BOCA RATON, Fla. – Friday was a tough day for the Trevecca Nazarene University volleyball team. The Trojans headed south to the southeastern corner of Florida to take on two of the toughest teams in the Sunshine State Conference as they kicked off their trip to the Hyatt Place Battle at the Beach. The Trojans opened with a tilt against Nova Southeastern University, and then took on one of the tournament's hosts - the Lynn University Fighting Knights.
Trevecca (2-6) struggled to find their stride on the offensive side of the net, as they hit .029 against NSU (7-3) and .010 against Lynn (6-1). As a result, the Trojans dropped both matches in three sets.
SERIES HISTORY
The losses leave both the all-time series with Nova Southeastern and the series with Lynn tied at 1-1. The Trojans had defeated the Flying Knights in Nashville in 2023, and they had previously beaten NSU in Huntsville, Alabama last season.
NOVA SOUTHEASTERN MATCH RECAP
The Trojans started the match with an ace from Brynne Krangnes, but Nova Southeastern answered quickly with a trio of points to take the lead, 3-1. The Sharks pushed that lead to 6-3, but kills from Katilyn Grant, Kayla Bullard, and Jordan Hunt capped a 4-0 spurt that put the Trojans back in front 7-6. A Krangnes kill and a setting error on NSU helped Trevecca take a 9-7 edge, but then NSU rallied. Five straight points gave the Sharks a 12-9 advantage, and after a scoring swing from Brianna Bowman cut the lead to 12-10, NSU seized control with a 9-0 run that helped the Sharks open a 21-10 lead on their way to the 25-12 set victory.
The teams split the first eight points of the second set evenly, but a 5-0 run for the Sharks gave NSU the lead at 9-4. Trevecca used kills from Bowman, Grant, and Emma Schnitzer to trim the deficit to 10-7, but Trevecca got no closer. As the set wore on, NSU methodically increased their lead with three more runs of at least three consecutive points, as NSU took the set 25-14 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
Trevecca fought hard in the third frame, and for a long time, it looked like Trevecca would extend the match. TNU used a 4-0 run in the early stages of the third frame to take a 10-8 lead, and while NSU drew even at 13-13, Trevecca rattled off eight straight points - highlighted by four aces from Bullard - to take the 21-13 lead. NSU, however, responded with a 5-1 run to cut the margin to 22-19. Krangnes scored a kill and an act to give Trevecca a set point chance, but NSU fought off five straight set points as a part of a 7-0 run that gave them the set win 26-24, and the match win, 3-0.
TROJAN HIGHLIGHTS - NOVA SOUTHEASTERN
LYNN MATCH RECAP
Lynn took control of the second match early in the first set on their home court. The Fighting Knights scored the first seven points of the match, and though Trevecca scored three straight points including a kill for Grant to cut the deficit to 7-3, Lynn answered with an 11-2 run to take the lead 18-5. Trevecca fought valiantly in the late stages of the set, as they scored three straight points three different times in the set, but the mountain was too tall, as Lynn took the set 25-17.
Back-to-back aces from Hunt helped Trevecca take an early 3-0 lead in the second set, and the Trojans held the lead through the first 13 points of the stanza before Lynn drew level. The Fighting Knights used a 7-0 run to take an 11-7 lead, and moments later, a 4-0 Lynn run pushed their lead to 18-10. Trailing 22-13, Trevecca mounted a push with a 5-0 run that featured two kills from Hunt and one from Bowman, , but a timeout from Lynn squelched the momentum and the Fighting Knights closed the set with three straight points to take the 25-18 set victory.
Lynn built a 4-1 lead early in the third set, but the Trojans fought back and tied things at 6-6 with a kill from Avery Ray. Lynn scored eight of the next nine points, though, to take a 14-7 lead, and the Trojans got no closer than four points through the remainder of the set. Lynn ended the match on a 9-2 run to take the set win 25-14, and the match 3-0.
TROJAN HIGHLIGHTS - LYNN
UP NEXT
Trevecca will head to nearby West Palm Beach on Saturday for their final match of the Bash at the Beach. They will do battle with the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish (5-4) at 3 p.m.
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