vs.

TRINITY INTERNATIONAL TROJANS (0-4, 0-4 CCAC) vs. PURDUE-NORTH CENTRAL PANTHERS (3-11, 0-4 CCAC)
Friday, October 2 | 7:30 p.m.
Sullivan Center | Joliet, Ill.
 

at

TRINITY INTERNATIONAL TROJANS (0-4, 0-4 CCAC) at ST. FRANCIS FIGHTING SAINTS (7-12, 3-2 CCAC)
Saturday, October 3 | 12:00 p.m.
Sullivan Center | Joliet, Ill.
 

vs.

TRINITY INTERNATIONAL TROJANS (0-4, 0-4 CCAC) vs. INDIANA-SOUTH BEND TITANS (8-9, 2-3 CCAC)
Saturday, October 3 | 2:00 p.m.
Sullivan Center | Joliet, Ill.

This Week
 • A busy week is on tap for the Trinity International Trojans, who will compete in four matches over five days, including the first of two CCAC Crossover Tournaments this season.
• Tuesday's match will be streamed live online, at TIUTrojans.com.

Last Time Out    
 • The Trojans dropped a pair of CCAC home matches, in a 3-2 nailbiter with St. Ambrose, and in straight sets to St. Xavier.
 • Against the Bees on Tuesday night, the Trojans held a 2-1 lead in the match before a tight 25-23 fourth set went in the favor of the vistors, who closed out the match in the fifth. Marissa Boelter and Suzanne Knudtson recorded Trinity's first two double-doubles of the season, as Boelter finished with 11 kills and 18 digs, while Knudtson collected 11 digs to go along with her 40 assists. Sophomore Lexie Voss led the attack with a career-high 18 kills and a .250 hitting percentage. Becca Kowalczuk led the back line, finishing with a team-high 19 digs.
• TIU struggled to get into a rhythm Thursday night, falling to the St. Xavier Cougars in straight sets 25-14, 25-18, 25-18. Kowalczuk finished with a team-high nine digs, while Mickayla Staal and Knudtson collected seven digs apiece. Knudtson also led the team with 15 assists on the night.

Head Coach Luke Ward    
 • Luke Ward was announced as the new head coach of the TIU Volleyball program in May, after a successful stint as the assistant coach and junior varsity head coach at Olivet Nazarene.
 • Ward spent the past three seasons helping lead Olivet Nazarene to three straight CCAC Tournament appearances, where the Tigers twice reached the semifinals before making an appearance in the championship match last fall. 
 • During his time at ONU, Ward has been a part of a coaching staff that has developed ten All-CCAC Team award winners, including five All-CCAC First Team honorees, along with 24 CCAC All-Academic Team members. The team also won the CCAC Champions of Character Team Award in 2013.

Stat Leaders    
 • Lexie Voss ranks among the top hitters in the CCAC, with an average of 3.07 kills per set; the sophomore has the 6th-highest average in the conference.
• Setter Suzanne Knudtson sits 9th in the CCAC, with an average of 6.50 assists per set.

Opponent Preview    
Roosevelt
 • The Lakers come into Tuesday's match with a 3-1 conference record, securing wins at St. Ambrose, and at home over St. Xavier and Judson.
 • Roosevelt's defense ranks 3rd in the conference, allowing a .141 hitting percentage to its opponents. Offensively, the Lakers hit .117, good for 10th in the league.
 • RU holds a 7-1 record against the Trojans since their first season in 2011. The Trojans won in Deerfield in the first-ever meeting, taking the match in straight sets.

Purdue-North Central
 • The Panthers earned a straight-set win at Governors State (Ill.) on Sept. 17, but otherwise have dropped six of their last seven entering play this week.
 • Purdue-North Central have hit for a .080 percentage, the lowest in the CCAC. On the defensive end, the Panthers are allowing a .197 hitting percentage to opponents, ranking 11th in the conference.
• The Trojans hold a 7-2 mark in the all-time series with Purdue-North Central, including wins in three of the last four meetings. PUNC took a 3-1 win over the Trojans in last year's CCAC Crossover at St. Xavier.

St. Francis
 • The Saints have dropped their last two matches, but have a 3-2 conference record, with wins over Calumet St. Joseph, Indiana-South Bend, and Purdue-Calumet.
 • St. Francis has the CCAC's 6th-ranked defense, with a .166 opponent's hitting percentage. On offense, USF ranks 9th, hitting .143 this season.
 • USF have claimed ten of the last 11 meetings with Trinity, with the lone win for the Trojans coming in 2008.

Indiana-South Bend
 • The Titans have won five of their last six matches, before falling at Trinity Christian last week.
 • IUSB ranks 5th in the CCAC with a .170 hitting percentage, and 7th in the league with a .172 hitting percentage allowed to their opponents.
• The Trojans and Titans have met three times previously, all since 2012. The Trojans earned a five-set win in that first matchup, but Indiana-South Bend have claimed straight-set wins each of the last two years.

Up Next    
 • Trinity has five matches on the slate next week, starting with a CCAC matchup at Judson on Tuesday, October 6.
• TIU will then head to Hannibal, Mo. on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9-10 for the Hannibal-LaGrange Trojan Invitational.