BOCA RATON, Fla. – No. 15 Lynn University volleyball made its 2026 home debut a successful one Friday night, sweeping Trevecca Nazarene 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-14) inside the de Hoernle Sports and Cultural Center. The Fighting Knights hit .300 while holding the Trojans to a .010 attacking percentage, improving to 6-1 and giving head coach
Travis Nichols his first home victory at the helm of the Blue and White.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Set One: Lynn 25, Trevecca Nazarene 17
- Lynn wasted little time taking control in its home opener, scoring the first seven points of the match
-
Audrey Shaw and
Alexia Radulovic opened the scoring with kills before
Lira Pukl Verdel delivered two aces during the early run
- Trevecca Nazarene pulled within four at 9-5 before back-to-back kills from
Lillia Neill helped the Fighting Knights extend the advantage to 11-4
- With Lynn ahead 12-5, Pukl Verdel helped ignite a 6-0 run that pushed the lead to 18-5. The stretch included two kills from Pukl Verdel and a block from Pukl Verdel and
Zara Rendic
- The Trojans chipped away at the deficit late, but Radulovic and Neill's kills put Lynn at set point, 24-14
- Trevecca scored the next three before Lynn closed out the opening frame, 25-17
- The Fighting Knights hit .270 with 14 kills while limiting the Trojans to a .051 clip
Set Two: Lynn 25, Trevecca Nazarene 18
- Trevecca opened the second with a 3-0 advantage and eventually stretched its lead to 7-4
- Lynn responded emphatically, using a 7-0 run to turn the three-point deficit into an 11-7 lead. Rendic served an ace during the surge, while Neill and Pukl Verdel each supplied kills
- The Blue and White continued to pull away, with a Shaw-Gorjup block followed by kills from Pukl Verdel, Radulovic and Shaw helping Lynn build an 18-10 advantage
- Trevecca made a late push and narrowed the gap to 22-18, but Pukl Verdel stopped the run with a kill
- Shaw followed with a kill to reach set point before a Trojan error sealed the 25-18 victory
- Lynn posted its best offensive set of the evening, hitting .345 with 14 kills while holding Trevecca without a positive hitting percentage
Set Three: Lynn 25, Trevecca Nazarene 14
- After Trevecca scored the opening point, Radulovic answered with a kill as Lynn quickly moved in front 4-1
- The Trojans battled back to tie the frame at 6-6, but Lynn responded with six consecutive points to take a 12-6 advantage
- Pukl Verdel provided a kill during the run as the Fighting Knights capitalized on four Trevecca errors
- Lynn maintained control from there, with kills from Pukl Verdel and Shaw helping push the advantage to 16-10
- Radulovic's kill started another surge that stretched the lead to 19-12
- Neill put down a kill for the 20th point before an
Ella Voorhees ace and a Gorjup-Neill block helped Lynn move to match point at 24-13
-
Chloe Riley put the finishing touch on the home-opening victory with a kill to seal the third set, 25-14, and complete the sweep
- Lynn hit .292 in the final frame while holding the Trojans to a -.033 hitting percentage
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
- Lynn improved to 6-1 overall with the victory and earned its fifth sweep of the season
- The victory marked
Travis Nichols' first home win as Lynn's head coach
- The Fighting Knights finished with 39 kills and a .300 hitting percentage, committing just 12 attacking errors on 90 attempts
- Lynn's defense held Trevecca Nazarene to 26 kills and a .010 hitting percentage, including a negative percentage in the third set
- Pukl Verdel led the Blue and White with nine kills, eight digs, two aces and a block
- Radulovic followed with eight kills on .313 hitting
- Neill recorded seven kills without an attacking error, hitting a match-best .538
- Shaw added six kills on a .556 hitting percentage and a block
- Gorjup directed the offense with 33 assists while adding 11 digs, two kills and two blocks
- Gorjup's 11 digs gave the setter a double-double in the victory
-
Haidyn Spano collected nine digs as Lynn finished with a 42-33 advantage on the defensive end
- The Fighting Knights held advantages in kills (39-26), assists (37-22) and digs (42-33)
UP NEXT:
The Fighting Knights continue their season-opening homestand on Saturday when they return to the de Hoernle Sports and Cultural Center to host Fort Valley State at 4:00 pm and UIndy at 7:00 pm.
