TIU Volleyball splits on opening day of CCAC Crossover
Greg Gorham
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Box Score: ONU | PUC | Season Stats
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- After a rough three-set loss to Olivet Nazarene, the Trinity International Trojans bounced back for a five-set win over the Purdue-Calumet Peregrines, to split their first pair of matches on the opening day of the CCAC Crossover Tournament. TIU fell 25-11, 25-17, 25-16 to the host Tigers, before winning 14-25, 25-19, 25-16, 19-25, 15-10, over Purdue-Calumet.
Samantha Stoller led the team with five kills against the Tigers, while Gabrielle LaMonaca had eight digs to lead the defense. The Trojarns struggled with unforced errors, hitting for a -.111 percentage with 23 attack errors, compared to 14 kills.
In the match with Purdue-Calumet, the Peregrines took advantage of a 16-6 run to start the opening game, including seven straight points to end the run. PUC ended up taking the first game, 25-14. Game two started with both teams trading serves until an 8-2 Peregrine run made it a 12-7 score. The Trojans were finally able to put a run of their own together, outscoring PUC through the middle portions of the game, 14-5, highlighted by three kills from Stoller. A pair of attack errors from Purdue-Calumet closed out the game, as TIU evened the match with a 25-19 win.
The Trojans took six of the first seven points in the third game, capped off with a Brittany Najera service ace. The Peregrines battled back to eventually tie the game at 10-10 on a TIU service error. Stoller helped net the win for the Trojans, knocking down the kill to reclaim a 15-14 lead, before then dealing out four straight service aces to make it a 19-14 Trojan edge. TIU would hold Purdue-Calumet to just two more points the rest of the way, taking a 25-16 win.
The Peregrines lead the fourth game from start to finish, claiming a 25-19 win to force a decisive fifth set, sending the Trojans to five games for the first time this season. Four attack errors gave PUC a 4-2 lead in the first-to-15 game, but then a Stoller kill and Najera ace evened the score at 4-4. After Cali Kramer's kill put TIU up 6-4, Purdue-Calumet briefly tied the score with back-to-back kills, but that would be as close as they would get; TIU outscored the Peregrines 9-4 the rest of the way to claim the match.
Stoller finished with a match-high 14 kills, and 19 for the first day of the Crossover. Julie Gregornik posted a double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs.
The Trojans are back at it tomorrow, when they wrap up the CCAC Crossover with matches against Trinity Christian and Purdue-North Central.
