SHERMAN, Texas — The Southwestern University Pirates volleyball team lost in four sets to the No. 9-ranked Trinity University Tigers on a neutral court (16-25, 17-25, 25-22, 19-25).
Lauren Crabtree posted her third triple-double of the season and Elleanna McGown had a strong performance with 11 kills on a .348 hitting percentage but it wasn't enough to overcome Trinity's front row.
"We competed at a high level for much of this elite college volleyball match," Head Coach Don Flora said. "There is so much to learn about finding your own rhythm and sustaining it for long periods of time. Today was a match where we did some nice things on our side of the net and we also put plenty of presure on the Tigers."
Crabtree had 10 kills but struggled with efficiency, hitting just .032. She also had 11 assists and 10 digs with one block assist. McGown contributed four digs, two aces, and one block assist to finish with a team-high 13.5 points.
After using the serve as a weapon all weekend, the Pirates finished with more service errors (eight) than aces (five).
Jess Mayer led the team in assists, recording 24 with seven digs. Libero Ali Grona led the Pirates with 13 digs.
Trinity outside hitters Annie Rose Leggett and Avery Tuggle, along with middle blocker Emma Funk, each finished with double-digit points for the Tigers. Tuggle had a double-double with 13 kills (.267) and 18 digs, adding two aces and one solo block for 16 points. Leggett had nine kills but served four aces and had five block assists. Funk had nine kills with three block assists.
Pirates' middle blocker Riley Brantley had seven kills and helped set a block with three block assists, scoring 9.5 points. Darby Stowers had five kills on eight attacks with one error (.500) in the middle. Outside hitter Emma White had eight kills on a .231 clip with a solo block and a block assist.
"Riley and Darby matched up well against Trinity's middles and our outside hitteres attacked at a quality level too," Flora said. "We have a lot of positive opportunities in front of this team still coming in 2019."
With the loss, the Pirates drop to 19-12 on the season and finish conference with a record of 12-6. Southwestern will travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania next weekend for matches against No. 18 Carnegie Mellon, Ohio Wesleyan, and Geneseo. The SCAC Championships begin on Friday, Nov. 8 in Seguin, Texas.
