The Middlebury volleyball team fell 3-0 to second-ranked Trinity University (Texas) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night. The Panthers conclude their season with a 21-6 mark, recording the most wins since 2012. Middlebury made history this year, opening the season with a program-record 14-match win streak. The Panthers finished the year with an unblemished 10-0 mark at home to go along with their first trip back to the NCAA Tournament since 2016. 
 
Middlebury jumped out to a 12-9 edge in the opening set, capped on a kill by Corley Doyle. The Tigers tallied eight unanswered points fueled by four service aces from Nadia Kern to take a 17-12 advantage. The Panthers responded with a 7-1 run, taking a 21-19 edge highlighted by a pair of kills from Lucy Ambach. Trinity tallied three points to take a 24-22 lead, before a kill by Laney Sullivan got Middlebury within one, but a kill by Emily Ellis secured the 25-23 first-set victory.
 
The Tigers carried their momentum from the opening stanza into the second frame, taking a 6-2 early lead. The Panthers battled back, cutting the deficit to one (7-6) with back-to-back kills from Sullivan, but that was as close as it would get during the frame as Trinity eased to a 25-17 win.
 
In the third set, the Tigers began with a 5-1 spurt capped on a kill from Avery Tuggle. The Panthers slowly chipped away at the deficit, cutting the lead to two (8-6) on a kill by Nelson. That was as close as Middlebury could get, as Trinity maintained a three-to-four point spread for the rest of the match, before pulling away at the end for the 25-18 triumph. 
 
Laney recorded a team-high eight kills. Wise tallied seven during the match, moving her into the seventh slot on Middlebury's all-time single-season list with 333 kills. Gabbie O'Toole dished out a match-high 34 assists, while Kelly Ferrero dug up 15 balls.
 
Tuggle led all players with 13 kills, while Marisa Amarino had 25 assists. Ellis recorded eight blocks for Trinity, while Kern had 14 digs.