Amongst a myriad of events that took place during Homecoming weekend: men’s and women’s senior day on Sunday, homecoming tailgate and football, or a vintage car show, nothing provided a better start to the weekend than beating our rival, #9 nationally ranked Trinity University. 

Leading up to the match, the Pirates were 8-2 (win-loss) in the SAA Conference. They beat the Tigers last year at Southwestern University in a tight four sets. The stands slowly filled up with students, alumni, and families from both teams under the beaming sun. The Pirates took the field, looking to defend their home court, while the Tigers looked to continue their dominance. 

The referee blew their whistle, signaling Trinity to serve. Right off the bat, both teams looked to take control of the match and gain a lead over the other. Near the end of the first set, Trinity was up 17-19, but the Pirates stood their ground. #1 Kendall Jurgen gained the Pirates a point, and they were able to keep a winning streak going for a while before Trinity put it to a stop. This put them at 21-19. Both teams played till the whistle, but ultimately, the Pirates came out on top and won the first set 25-23!

As both teams switched sides, an atmosphere of hope began to fill the gym as the idea of sweeping Trinity crept into the minds of fans and players alike. However, the Tigers didn’t back down and would give the Pirates a much harder second set to win. The Pirates defended against the Tigers’ massive kills and looked for opportunities to gain a lead. They would eventually fall short, allowing the Tigers to win the second set, 22-25. 

After some words of encouragement from the head coach Don Flora, the Pirates took to the court with renewed determination. Several times during the third set, the Pirates kept a winning streak going, keeping ahead of the Tigers. At one point during the set, the Pirates had a 23-16 lead. For a couple minutes, it looked like Trinity would come back, but the Pirates quickly shut it down, winning the third set 25-19. This put the Pirates up, two sets to one. 

The fourth set started off with a bang. Both the Pirates and the Tigers defended against the other’s kills. It was neck and neck through the entirety of the set, leaving the fans and students on edge of the seats. The Tigers were up 20-21, but #15 Lilly McWhorter blocked a massive kill, tying the game, 21-21. During match point, McWhorter served the ball to which the Tigers failed to set up the kill. This sent the fans into cheers as the team ran onto the court to celebrate! 
This win broke Trinity’s 11-match winning streak and gained Southwestern a spot in the SAA tournament. During the game, #16 Chloe Blanchard racked up 15 kills, which helped her reach a new milestone of 200 career kills! Both #17 Tatum Ahrens and #4 Taylor Johnson reached new milestones, 200 career digs and 100 career digs respectively. As of November 2, the Pirates, now 11-2 (win-loss), and they play Trinity again this Friday in San Antonio.