BANNOCKBURN, Ill. --- The TIU women's volleyball team returned home to Van Dixhorn Arena on Thursday night for their final regular season home match of the season against the Cougars of Saint Xavier University in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) action. On a night where seniors Jacqueline Decker, Deborah Kovalczuk and Madeline Decker were honored for their four years playing for the Trojans, TIU looked to close out the regular season schedule on a strong note and split SXU after falling to the Cougars in Chicago two weeks earlier.

Taking advantage of the several SXU errors early, Trinity jumped out to an early lead in the first set. Closing the first frame out on a 5-1 run, Grace Mauersberger put the finishing touches on an impressive first set for TIU with a kill for the 25-20 win. In the second, the Trojans scored 16 of the first 25 points of the set, and again capitalized off ten Cougar attack errors en route to a 25-15 win.

Things dramatically shifted in the third as Saint Xavier found new life offensively despite another strong start by TIU. Extending the set past 25 points, SXU's Nadia Atton notched a kill of TIU's Anna Skrzypchak, while Laura Woodward recorded a service ace off Jaylyn Freeman to give SXU a 29-27 win.

The action would remain close in the fourth, but it would be the Cougars who would pull the frame out, scoring eight of the final ten points in the set to force the match to a decisive fifth frame. While the Cougars built an 11-7 lead in the fifth, the Trojans remained resilient and chipped away at their deficit, inching closer before taking the lead on a Brianna Torres kill. Torres would notch two more kills in the final three plays to close out the night and hold off the Saint Xavier comeback 15-13 in the fifth, and 3-2 in the match.

Torres led the match with 26 kills in the win, while Matty Hawkins recorded ten on her attack. Skrzypchak notched 51 assists over the course of the five-set battle, while Freeman recorded 15 digs on defense. At the net Kovalczuk notched three block assists in her final regular season match, while Hawkins totaled three blocks as well, including two solo.

Additional Match Notes

• Thursday night's win was just the third victory for TIU all-time against Saint Xavier. While the Cougars still lead the series 20-3, Trinity has won two of the last three.

• TIU improves their record to 6-2 this season in five-set matches with tonight's win.

• The Trojans with the win finished 13-4 in CCAC play this season in third place, with one match cancelled due to COVID-19. It is the program's best overall finish in the league since their last regular season conference championship in 2006.

• TIU's 13 CCAC wins this season mark the first time in program history the team has won 13 conference matches in consecutive seasons. It is also the first time the Trojans have won 12 or more conference matches in three consecutive seasons.

• Brianna Torres set three single match program records in Thursday's victory. Most points in a single five-set match, most points in a single five-set match against a CCAC opponent (29.0), and most kills in a five-set match against a CCAC opponent (26).

• Torres set new career-highs against SXU in kills (26) and attack attempts.

• Anna Skrzypchak set a new career-high in assists with 51 in the win.

• Matty Hawkins earned the 100th solo block of her career in the victory and now sits at 101.

NEXT UP

With the regular season now in the books, the Trojans (17-8) will turn their attention to the postseason and prepare for the CCAC Tournament, set to begin next week. Having secured third place in the league, TIU will host the sixth-seeded team in the field on Tuesday, April 6, at 7:00pm at Van Dixhorn Arena in the single-elimination tournament. The CCAC Tournament champion will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NAIA Tournament.

Tuesday's CCAC Volleyball Tournament Quarterfinal will be streamed LIVE on the Trojan Sports Network.

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.