DEERFIELD, Ill. - It took two hard-fought, close sets, following one blowout, for Trinity International to secure their first victory of the season Tuesday night, as the Trojans earned a straight-set victory over the Roosevelt Lakers 25-8, 28-26, 26-24 inside Van Dixhorn Arena.

Box Score | Season Stats

The Trojans (1-4, 1-4 CCAC) dominated the opening set, hitting for a .348 average, the highest single-set percentage this season, but the Lakers (4-7, 3-2 CCAC) responded with two competitive games that required extra points for Trinity to secure.

Trinity opened the match with four straight points to claim an early lead; Roosevelt answered with a quick rally to cut into the Trojan lead at 5-3, but Suzanne Knudtson served up 13 straight points for TIU, giving the Trojans their largest lead of the season at 18-3. Three kills from Mickayla Staal and a pair from Alida Knudtson highlighted the rally, which led to the 25-8 win. 

In set two, Trinity took an early lead again, but the Lakers stayed close, taking their first lead of the match at 12-11 with a service ace from RU's Arielle Nausieda. Neither side could take more than a two-point lead the rest of the set, and both teams held set point at different moments down the stretch. After a Roosevelt kill gave the Lakers their second chance at closing out the set, Gabby Miller got the kill to tie the score at 26-26. An RU attack error followed by an ace from Staal gave Trinity a two-set advantage on the night.

A kill from Alida Knudtson, followed by an ace from her sister Suzanne and a pair of attacking errors gave TIU the 5-2 lead early in game three. The Trojans maintained an early lead until two points from the Lakers tied the score at 8-8, at which point no team could pull away throughout the middle portion of the set. With Roosevelt in front 15-13, the Trojans reeled off seven of the next eight points, thanks to two kills from Alida Knudtson, two aces from Staal, and a pair of attack errors.

With a 23-17 TIU lead, Roosevelt rallied to nearly steal the set, with a seven-point run that gave the visitors set point at 24-23. A service error extended the match, before Lexie Voss secured the win, assisting on a block at 25-24, then recording her match-leading 11th kill on the night to give TIU head coach Luke Ward his first career victory.

Along with her 11 kills on the night, Voss led the Trojans with four total blocks and 15.5 points. Suzanne Knudtson picked up 19 assists as the team's primary setter, while Marissa Boelter and Becca Kowalczuk tied for the team lead with 13 digs apiece.

The Trojans will now get ready for a busy weekend, competing in the first of two CCAC Crossovers. Trinity will head to Joliet, Ill. on Friday and Saturday, October 2-3 to play in three matches against Purdue-North Central, St. Francis and Indiana-South Bend, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday night.