DEERFIELD, Ill. - Trinity International struggled to get into a rhythm Thursday night, falling to the St. Xavier Cougars in straight sets inside Van Dixhorn Arena 25-14, 25-18, 25-18. The Trojans'
Lexie Voss led the attack with eight kills on the night, while Alida Knudston and
Marissa Boelter collected five kills each.
Box Score | Season StatsThe visiting Cougars led wire-to-wire in all three sets, as Trinity (0-4, 0-4 CCAC) was forced to play from behind most of the night. A 9-2 run at the start of the match gave St. Xavier (8-5, 3-1 CCAC) the early lead, but the Trojans pulled to within two, using a 5-1 run highlighted by kills from Knudtson and Boelter to make it a 12-10 score. SXU responded with nine of the next 11 points to take control of the opener.
Giving up another big lead to start the second, the Trojans rallied with a five-point run midway through the game. Voss dealt out one of her two aces on the night, then a Cougar attacking error made it just a one-point advantage for St. Xavier at 10-9. The Cougars used a 6-1 run, and despite a late rally from the Trojans, SXU closed the door before TIU could pull even late in the set.
The third set was the most well-played for Trinity, who hit for a .162 average with nine kills, while holding St. Xavier to just a .105 average. TIU were still unable to take the lead, however, as SXU again took the early lead, 7-3. Three times, the Trojans pulled to within a point, at 8-7 with a kill from
Mickayla Staal, at 11-10 with a block from Voss and
Gabby Miller, and again with another block from the duo at 13-12. Trinity were unable to find the game-tying point, and a six-point run later in the game sealed the match.
Sophomore
Becca Kowalczuk finished with a team-high nine digs, while Staal and
Suzanne Knudtson collected seven digs apiece. Knudtson also led the team with 15 assists on the night.
Trinity will wrap up the current three-match homestand on Tuesday, September 29, when they host Roosevelt in a CCAC matchup. Tipoff from Van Dixhorn Arena is set for 7:00 p.m.
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