Trinity volleyball looks ahead to playoffs

For the fourth straight year, Trinity is headed to the playoffs.

Courtesy of last week’s home sweep of Colleyville Heritage (25-19, 25-20, 25-23), which the Lady Trojans had not beaten since October of 2012, Trinity (26-13, 6-5) could finish as high as third place in the final district standings with a win in the final match of the season at Haltom. That would give Trinity a lightly easier path in the early rounds of the playoffs, where the Trojans have not fared well over the past three seasons.

Each has ended in the bi-district round.

Trinity also took its second loss of the season (9-25, 17-25, 10-25) to Coppell, the No. 12 ranked Class 6A team in the state according to the Texas Girls Coaches Association, on Friday. Elli Merchant and Amanda McDowell led the way defensively in the loss with 14 digs apiece.

In the win against Heritage, Merchant led the Lady Trojans with 12 kills, while Abby Morphew recorded six blocks. McDowell led defensively with 26 digs, and setter Margaret Dean had 25 assists.

The Lady Trojans beat Haltom in three sets (25-13, 25-13, 25-13) in the teams’ only meeting this year on October 2 and have beaten the Lady Buffaloes the last 10 times the two teams have played, dating back to the 2010 season. But Trinity’s game Tuesday at Haltom might not ultimately decide whether the Lady Trojans take the third or fourth seed from the district into the playoffs.

If the Lady Trojans win at Haltom, they will be tied for third with Heritage for third in the district. The two teams split two matches in the regular season, so a decision to either flip a coin to decide the seeding or to play for it on Friday or Saturday will be made either Tuesday night or Wednesday, Trinity coach Mia Langi said.

▪  Bell (15-24, 3-8) will finish its season Tuesday at Richland with a chance to improve on last year’s 3-9 district finish. The Lady Raiders beat Richland in three sets (28-26, 25-19, 25-15) in the team’s first meeting on Oct. 2.

The Lady Raiders split last week’s matches as well, losing in three to Coppell (11-25, 11-25, 17-25) before getting the best of Haltom in three (25-22, 25-13, 25-23) for the season sweep of the Lady Buffaloes. Against Haltom, which Bell has beaten in 10 straight matches dating back to the 2010 season, the Lady Raiders were led by Sidra Triplett’s 12 kills, setter Sophie Rodgers’ 33 assists, and Shawna Glick’s 15 digs.

This story was originally published October 26, 2015 at 1:22 PM with the headline "Trinity volleyball looks ahead to playoffs."