BANNOCKBURN, Ill. --- The TIU women's volleyball team returned home on Saturday afternoon as they hosted the Cornerstone Golden Eagles on the second day of TIU/Judson Crossover. After splitting their first two matches of the season on Friday afternoon in Elgin, the Trojans looked to start the defense of their home floor off right with a win.

Trinity began each set with a strong rally, claiming the first few points before the Eagles rallied to tie. Cornerstone's Bailey Cummings notched four service aces against the Trojans, while TIU could only manage one in the match. TIU relied heavily on their young defense with transfer Jaylyn Freeman seeing an increased amount of action, and saw focused energy from Matty Hawkins with three solo blocks.

Attack errors plagued the Trojans throughout the match as the Eagles caught TIU off guard on a number of sets. While Trinity was able to set up good formations, they struggled to get their attacks past Cornerstone, who's all-around solid offense propelled them to a 3-0 win over TIU, 25-17, 25-16, 25-13).

In addition to her three solo blocks, Hawkins led Trinity with six kills. Anna Skrzypchak notched 20 assists and ten digs , with Freeman recording 12 digs as well. 

Additional Match Notes

• With today's loss, the Trojans fall to 0-2 all-time against Cornerstone. The Golden Eagles won the only other meeting of the series back on Oct. 12, 2012 by a 3-0 score.

• TIU falls to 2-8 in their last ten home opening matches. Their last home opening win came against Hannibal-LaGrange (MO) on Sept. 2, 2016.

• Trinity committed 27 attack errors, while the Eagles committed just 14 with a .198 attack percentage.

• Matty Hawkins led TIU with 9.0 points in the match

NEXT UP

TIU (1-2) will begin Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) play next Thursday, January 28 as they visit Trinity Christian in Palos Heights. First serve is scheduled for 7:00pm CT and can be followed live on the TCC Trolls Live Stream.

Visit TIUtrojans.com to stay up to date with the latest TIU women's volleyball news and schedule updates.

Follow the Trojans online and on social media!

   Facebook - Trinity International Athletics

   Twitter - @TIUVolleyball   @TIUTrojans

   Instagram - TIU Athletics    @tiuvolleyball

   Snapchat - @TIUtrojans

   YouTube - TIU Athletics

Trinity International University is a comprehensive, national university affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America and located in Bannockburn, Illinois, 25 miles north of Chicago. TIU educates men and women to engage in God's redemptive work in the world by cultivating academic excellence, Christian faithfulness and lifelong learning.