Lynn University

WALTHAM, Mass. - The Travis Nichols era officially began Friday as the Lynn University volleyball team split a pair of matches on the opening day of the 2026 season at the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament. Nichols earned his first victory as head coach of the Fighting Knights with a dominant 3-0 sweep of (RV) Central Missouri in the morning before Lynn battled (RV) Grand Valley State in a 3-1 setback in the nightcap to finish day one with a 1-1 record.
 
Lynn defeats Central Missouri, 3-0 (25-21, 25-11, 25-21): Lynn volleyball opened its 2026 campaign in dominant fashion Friday morning, sweeping Central Missouri 3-0 as part of the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament hosted by Bentley. The Fighting Knights hit .305 for the match and finished with 45 kills as they started the season with a win.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Set 1:
- Central Missouri grabbed an early 9-5 advantage before Lynn began to work its way back into the opening set
- The Fighting Knights erased the deficit and pulled even at 15-15 before taking their first multi-point lead at 18-16
- Lira Pukl Verdel helped fuel a 5-0 Lynn run with back-to-back kills as the Fighting Knights turned a 16-15 deficit into a 20-16 advantage
- Central Missouri pulled within three at 23-20, but Alexia Radulovic answered with a kill to bring Lynn to set point
- Zara Rendic finished the opening frame with a kill off an assist from Ula Gorjup to secure the 25-21 victory
- Lynn totaled 17 kills and hit .314 in the first set
 
Set 2:
- Lynn wasted little time taking control of the second set, using an 8-0 run to turn a 2-1 advantage into a commanding 10-1 lead
- Lillia Neill, Rendic and Radulovic all recorded kills during the early surge, while Lynn's defense forced several Central Missouri attack errors
- The Fighting Knights continued to pull away and extended their lead to 15-4 behind consecutive kills from Gorjup, Rendic and Pukl Verdel
- Lynn pushed its advantage to 20-6 following back-to-back service aces from Pukl Verdel
- Neill closed the set with a kill from Gorjup as the Fighting Knights cruised to a 25-11 set victory
- Lynn hit a match-best .375 in the second set while holding Central Missouri to a -.056 hitting percentage
 
Set 3:
- Central Missouri jumped ahead 3-1 before Lynn answered with five straight points to take a 6-3 advantage
- Radulovic and Neill each posted kills during the run, while Clara Maidantchik added a service ace
- The Jennies battled back and eventually tied the set at 16-16, but Lynn immediately regained the lead and followed with consecutive Rendic kills to move ahead 19-16
- Rendic added a service ace as Lynn extended its advantage to 21-17
- Central Missouri remained within striking distance at 24-21 before an attack error sealed the 25-21 set and the 3-0 Blue and White sweep
 
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
- The Fighting Knights hit .305 as a team with 45 kills on 105 attacks while holding Central Missouri to a .052 hitting percentage and 25 kills
- Rendic led all players with 14 kills while hitting .379 and added nine digs, three total blocks and a service ace
- Pukl Verdel posted a double-double with 12 kills and a team-high 10 digs while hitting .389 and adding two service aces
- Radulovic finished with 11 kills on a .286 hitting percentage and three total blocks
- Neill hit a team-best .500 with five kills and three block assists
- Gorjup directed the Lynn offense with 37 assists while adding eight digs, two kills and a service ace
- Lynn held a 45-25 advantage in kills, a 42-24 edge in assists and a 42-33 advantage in digs
- The Fighting Knights finished with six service aces and six total blocks

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Lynn falls to Grand Valley State, 1-3 (21-25, 25-22, 22-25, 16-25): The Lynn volleyball team split its opening-day matches at the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament on Friday, falling to Grand Valley State 3-1 in the nightcap. The Fighting Knights moved to 1-1 in the early season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Set 1:
- The opening frame went back and forth early, with neither side able to create much separation
- Lynn grabbed an 11-8 advantage before Grand Valley State battled back to even the set at 11-11
- The Fighting Knights then used kills from Neill and Gorjup along with another Rendic service ace to build an 18-13 advantage
- Grand Valley State answered with an 8-2 run to take a 21-20 lead
- Pukl Verdel evened the set at 21-21 with a kill, but the Lakers scored the final four points to close out the opener, 25-21
 
Set 2:
- Grand Valley State took an early 3-1 lead before Lynn battled back, with kills from Audrey Shaw, Rendic and Neill helping the Fighting Knights tie the set at 5-5
- The Lakers later built a 10-7 advantage, but Lynn responded with three straight points behind kills from Pukl Verdel and Radulovic and a Gorjup service ace to tie the frame at 10-10
- Grand Valley State pushed its lead to 18-14 before Lynn answered with a 6-1 run, highlighted by a Rendic service ace, a Neill-Gorjup block, a Shaw kill and a Shaw-Pukl Verdel block to take a 20-19 lead
- With the score tied at 21, Gorjup delivered her third service ace of the set to put the Fighting Knights back in front, 22-21
- Radulovic followed with a kill before consecutive Grand Valley State attack errors closed out Lynn's 25-22 set victory and evened the match at 1-1
 
Set 3:
- Grand Valley State jumped out to an early 4-1 lead before Lynn cut the deficit to 4-3 behind a block from Shaw/Radulovic and a Laker attack error
- The Lakers responded with a 9-1 run to open a 13-4 advantage, their largest lead of the set
- Lynn answered with five straight points, highlighted by kills from Neill and Shaw, to pull within four at 13-9
- Grand Valley State rebuilt its lead to 19-13 before the Fighting Knights mounted another comeback
- Pukl Verdel sparked a 6-0 Lynn run with a kill and two service aces, while Shaw added a kill to help the Fighting Knights erase the deficit and tie the set at 19-19
- The Lakers answered with three straight points to regain a 22-19 advantage before kills from Radulovic and Zara Rendic twice brought Lynn back within two
- Grand Valley State held off the late push and took the third set, 25-22, to move ahead 2-1 in the match
 
Set 4:
- Lynn came out strong in the fourth set, using kills from Radulovic and Pukl Verdel along with a Grand Valley State attack error to grab an early 4-1 advantage
- The Fighting Knights maintained a 6-4 edge following a Neill kill before the Lakers answered with three straight points to take their first lead of the set, 7-6
- The teams traded points to a 9-9 tie before Grand Valley State used a 7-2 run to open a 16-11 advantage
- Shaw briefly halted the run with a kill, but the Lakers continued to pull away and extended their lead to 21-13
- Pukl Verdel and Shaw added late kills for Lynn, but Grand Valley State closed out the fourth set, 25-16, to secure the 3-1 match victory
 
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
- Pukl Verdel led Lynn with 13 kills while hitting .237 and added six digs, three total blocks and two service aces
- Neill and Rendic each finished with eight kills, while Neill hit .278 and added three total blocks
- Rendic posted three service aces, six digs and 12 points
- Radulovic and Shaw each added seven kills while hitting .222
- Gorjup recorded 32 assists and 12 digs for a double-double while also contributing three service aces and three total blocks
- Haidyn Spano led the Fighting Knights with 13 digs
- Lynn held an 8-7 advantage in service aces and an 8-7 edge in blocks
- The Fighting Knights finished with 46 kills, 40 assists and 49 digs while hitting .209 for the match
 
UP NEXT:
The Fighting Knights close out their tenure in the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament on Saturday afternoon when they take on host No. 22 Bentley at 2:00 pm.