SAN ANTONIO, Tx. - The Birmingham-Southern volleyball team opened their season at the Trinity Invitational in San Antonio, Texas on Friday. The Panthers hope to bounce back today after two tough tests to start the 2023 campaign.

Game 1 vs. Texas Lutheran

The first set started off with a quick 3-1 lead for the Panthers before the Bulldogs rallied seven straight points to take an 8-3 lead. Despite going down by as much as eight, BSC battled back to take a 21-18 lead late in the opening set. However, seven straight points from TLU gave them the first set victory 25-21.

After a back-and-forth start to set two, the score was tied at nine. The Bulldogs then strung together eight-straight points before BSC's Claire Hayes ended the big run. The Panthers cut the deficit to three late in the set to make the score 21-18, but they ultimately went on to lose the set 25-19.

With a tough task in front of them, BSC looked to fight back in set three. After trading points early, TLU started to pull away and took a 19-10 lead. The Panthers couldn't quite get a comeback going and dropped the third set 25-15. 

Records
Birmingham-Southern 0-1 Overall, Texas Lutheran 1-0 Overall
 
SET Summary 
SET ONE: 25-21 Texas Lutheran
SET TWO: 25-19 Texas Lutheran
SET THREE: 25-15 Texas Lutheran

Game 2 vs. Trinity

In set one, Trinity jumped out to an extremely hot start and took a 14-2 lead. The Panthers then scored five straight points led by a couple of Kylie Wilhelmi kills. The Tigers then started to slowly stretch their lead and led 21-11 late in the opening set. They went on to close the set out by a score of 25-12.

Trinity once again got off to a great start in set two by taking a 5-0 lead. After going down 11-3, BSC scored three-straight points to cut the deficit to five. The Tigers continued to push and took an 18-7 lead late in the set. They finished set two with a 25-12 win.

In set three, the Panthers were the ones to have the great start with an early 7-3 lead. Trinity started to fight back and the score was tied at 12 roughly midway through the set. The Tigers then caught fire and took a 19-13 lead to make things difficult for BSC. Trinity went on to close the match out with a 25-18 win in set three.

Records
Birmingham-Southern 0-2 Overall, Trinity 2-0 Overall
 
SET Summary 
SET ONE: 25-12 Trinity
SET TWO: 25-12 Trinity
SET THREE: 25-18 Trinity


Up next
The Panthers will play today, Sept. 2 at 12:15 p.m. vs. #15 Wisconsin-Oshkosh and at 4:45 p.m. vs. Whitworth at Trinity.