SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The Millsaps College volleyball team defeated No. 17 ranked Trinity University for the second time this season thanks to a terrific team effort. The Majors secured a 3-1 triumph over the Tigers on Friday at the Julie Jenkins Court.
Millsaps (14-8, 5-6 SAA) won the opening set 25-21, fell 25-15 in the second before claiming thrilling 25-23 decisions in both the third and fourth sets.
Freshman Khloe Duncan led Millsaps with a season-high 23 kills and 24.5 points, while hitting an impressive .375. Sophomore Kinney Boyle posted a career-best 14 kills as well.
Junior Zoë LaCaze recorded seven kills, seven total blocks and two service aces. Sophomore Anna Ware finished with 28 assists and eight digs, while classmate Rachel Zamjahn ended the afternoon with 23 assists.
Defensively, senior Sandy Bourgeois collected 16 digs and added five assists.
In the opening set, senior Amelia Bohl added a kill and teamed up with LaCaze on a block to create a 7-5 Majors' lead.
Millsaps turned a 9-8 edge into a 12-8 lead on a Duncan kill and consecutive Trinity attack errors.
The Majors continued to answer with kills from Duncan, sophomore Madelynn Sasser, Boyle, and LaCaze, all working together to keep the Tigers from tallying points.
Zamjahn added a service ace and LaCaze followed with a block solo as Millsaps pushed ahead 18-11. Boyle later put Millsaps at set point with a kill from Ware.
Trinity (14-8, 6-6 SAA), who entered the match ranked No. 17 in the AVCA-Taraflex Division III WVB Poll, scored the next two points, but Boyle answered again from Ware to finish the set at 25-21 as Millsaps celebrated the set's victory.
Millsaps started the second set with an early push, answering Trinity's opening point with a Duncan kill before Bohl and Duncan again helped the Majors move ahead with a smooth 3-1 lead.
As the set continued, Trinity added a Majors attack error, and three kills to hawk the Majors down to tie the contest at 6-6.
Trinity then broke away with four straight points, including two service aces, to put Millsaps behind 10-6.
After Trinity stretched the margin to 19-9, but Millsaps responded with a Duncan kill and three more points on Ware's serves, including back-to-back blocks by sophomore Lily Luneau and Duncan to make it 19-13.
Sasser added a late kill; however, Trinity closed out with a 25-15 victory to secure their only set win against the Majors on Friday.
Millsaps turned the third set with a six-point push from a 13-12 edge to 19-12, getting kills from Duncan, Luneau and Sasser along with a Sasser-Luneau block during Ware's service stretch.
Trinity later erased a 22-17 Millsaps lead, but a Tigers attack error, a kill, and a LaCaze service ace would give the Majors back their commanding lead to take the third set, 25-23.
In the fourth set, Millsaps recovered from an early 4-1 deficit behind Duncan, who had four kills before the set reached 6-6.
Sophomore Atlee Gonzales then served Millsaps in front during a three-point stretch that included a Sasser kill, a Boyle kill and a Trinity attack error.
After the set was tied at 11-11, Sasser put Millsaps back ahead, and Zamjahn's service turn helped build the advantage to 16-11 with kills from LaCaze and Boyle and a block by Bohl and LaCaze.
Trinity cut into the margin late. Taking charge, Millsaps got kills from Duncan, Sasser, Boyle, and LaCaze down the stretch before Boyle delivered the final point to help the Majors top the Tigers, 25-23 and triumph over the Tigers.
The Millsaps volleyball team will remain in San Antonio to take on Southwestern University in a neutral-site matchup, beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Live video will be available at FloCollege, while live stats will be available at gomajors.com.
To keep up to date with everything surrounding the Millsaps volleyball program follow the Majors on X and Instagram, like Millsaps Majors Athletics on Facebook and visit gomajors.com.
Founded in Jackson, Mississippi in 1890, Millsaps College is a national liberal arts college dedicated to academic excellence, open inquiry and free expression, the exploration of faith to inform vocation and the innovative shaping of the social, economic and cultural progress of our region. Consistently ranked as one of the best values in higher education, Millsaps has been praised by Colleges That Change Lives, The Princeton Review, Forbes Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The John Templeton Foundation, and The Fiske Guide to Colleges.
