MOUNT BERRY, Ga.- The No. 10 Berry College Vikings fell to future Southern Athletic Association foe No. 11 Trinity University in an intense five sets (25-19, 19-25, 20-25, 25-21, 12-15) to inevitably end their 2023 season in the semi-final round of the NCAA Volleyball tournament at the Berry Regional in The Cage Center on Friday night.
The game began with a monstrous kill by Bella Boston which was followed by two Tiger (30-4) errors to quickly make the score 3-0 in favor of the Vikings (27-6). Setting the tone early, the Tigers would continue to chase the Vikings until they finally inched to a 9-8 lead. Eight of the Tiger's nine points were attributed to Berry errors. Rising under pressure, Lura Underwood came alive offensively and changed the tone of the game with six kills to help the Vikings run away with the score, winning the first set 25-19.
The first half of the second set was a prime illustration as to why the teams are such evenly matched opponents. With eight tied scores and five lead changes, neither team grew to a lead greater than two points until a timely Tiger kill made the score 21-18 in favor of Trinity. Berry's head coach Caitlyn Moriarty used her last timeout of the set to reign in her players, and it seemed to work as the Vikings were the first to strike after the timeout. However, that would be the last point Berry secured in this set, falling 25-19.
The Tigers clawed their way to start the third set with an unmatched intensity that hushed the previously thunderous Berry student section. Climbing to a quick 4-0 lead, this was the first set which Berry was unable to attack first. Seeing her collegiate career on the line, senior Jazzy Innis found gaps in the maroon team's defense on four separate occasions. Cypress Guenther came off the bench for the Vikings and made the crowd roar as she tallied two kills as though she had been on the floor all along. The offensive rhythm found the Vikings too late, as Trinity claimed set three and took the lead 2-1.
Determined not to make the same mistake twice, the Vikings were the first to strike, forcing the Tigers to trail for the entire fourth set. Lindsey MacDiarmid was a crucial element to the Viking's offense, totaling 11 assists to compliment 13 Berry kills. Never letting their feet off the gas, Moriarty's team easily slid into a 25-21 win to force a winner-take-all fifth set.
The Vikings had a 100 percent success rate in every fifth set they competed in so far this season. After five kills early in the set, four of which were from Underwood's dangerous arm, the 7-2 score in favor of the Vikings made it seem as though they would continue their fifth set winning streak. Berry became a little rattled with a Trinity come back that tied the game at 10-10. A kill by Guenther and a bad Trinity set would inevitably be the last points Berry tallied in their 2023 campaign, losing the final set 15-12.
In the last game of her career, Innis double-doubled with 16 kills and 21 digs. Joining her, Underwood double-doubled with 14 kills and 22 digs, and MacDiarmid double-doubled with 43 assists and 13 digs.
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