GLENDALE, Ariz. --- With the summer months winding down, the TIU women's volleyball team got the chance to soak in the sun as they headed down to warm deserts of Arizona for three matches to kick off the Labor Day weekend. Their first two matches would begin in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, as the Trojans would play a pair of matches against the Buccaneers of Park University (AZ) and Arizona Christian in a tri-match.

From the onset of their opening match with the Buccaneers, the Trojans faced a challenge against a tough Park attack. Trinity would lead the majority of the first set before narrowly closing out the first set, 25-22. Things would get much more challenging in the second as the Bucs recorded a .613 attack percentage against the Trojans en route to a 25-20 win.

TIU bounced back in the third with a 25-17 victory, backed by ten attack errors by Park. However, the Bucs rebounded with their offense in the fourth with 15 kills to Trinity's eight, winning the set 25-16, and forcing the Trojans into their first five-set match of the young season. Park would carry their momentum over from the previous frame with a flawless fifth set with ten kills and no errors to hand Trinity a 15-10 loss, and their first five-set loss of the year.

Madison Williams led TIU with 13 kills against the Bucs, while setter Anna Skrzypchak recorded 43 assists. Brianna Torres notched a team-high 15 digs in the loss, with Jaylyn Freeman tallying 14 digs on defense, while Lana Vujosevic notched 13 digs and four service aces.

In their second match of the night against Arizona Christian, the offensive struggles continued for Trinity, with 12 attack errors in the opening set against the Firestorm, leading to a tough 25-10 loss. The Trojans quickly put the difficult first frame behind them however with an impressive second set, with 11 combined kills and ten ACU errors.

TIU wouldn't be able to spark their offense anymore unfortunately as the Firestorm dominated the service game throughout the night, recording 18 aces to TIU's five. After dropping the third set 25-19, ACU took firm control of the match in the fourth, jumping out to an early five point lead and cruising to a commanding 25-12 win to hand the Trojans their second match loss of the day.

Hawkins would lead the match with ten kills, with nine from Vujosevic, and eight from Grace Mauersberger. Skrzypchak recorded another 34 assists on the night, while Williams and Nadia Wheeler each notched two blocks each. Freeman led the TIU defense with ten digs.

ADDITIONAL GAME NOTES

• Friday's matches against Park (AZ) and Arizona Christian were the first meetings all-time for Trinity against the two programs.

• With tonight's losses, the Trojans fall to 1-4 for the first time since the 2019 season. That year, TIU would overcome a tough start en route to the program's first NCCAA regional championship, and an NCCAA Tournament berth.

• After riding a 14-match winning streak in five-set matches during the 2019 and 2020 seasons, the Trojans are 1-3 in their last four matches to go to five-sets after falling to Park (AZ).

• Anna Skrzypchak's 43 assists against the Buccaneers are a season-high. Her career-high of 51 was set last season in a five-set home match against Saint Xavier.

• Lana Vujosevic's four service aces against the Buccaneers mark the sixth time in her career to record four or more aces in a single match. Vujosevic, who played her freshman season at Governors State reached this feat five times as a Jaguar, where she set her career-high of five aces three times in 2019, most recently on Nov. 7, 2019 against Saint Xavier.

• Matty Hawkins recorded four blocks assists against Park. With an career total of 186, Hawkins has tied Jessica McWilliams (2006-07) for fourth on the program's all-time block assists list. 

• Hawkins recorded seven total blocks in Friday's tri-match, giving her 296 for her career. She is one block from tying Jessica McWilliams for third all-time in team history, and four blocks from becoming the third Trojan to ever reach 300 career blocks.

• Brianna Torres notched 14 kills against Park and Arizona Christian tonight, bringing her career total to 1,149. Torres is three kills shy of tying Rebecca Campbell (2010-12) for fifth most kills in TIU women's volleyball history. 

• With 76 total assists during both matches tonight, Anna Skrzypchak joins the program's top ten list all-time in career assists. She now ranks ninth all-time in school history with 836 total assists, surpassing Kali Cramer (2012-14) and Kayla Jacks (2016-17). She trails Suzanne Knudtson (2013-15) for eighth on the all-time assists list by 13.

• Skrzypchak also becomes the ninth Trojan to record at least 800 career assists playing for TIU.

UP NEXT

The Trojans (1-4) will wrap up their Arizona road trip tomorrow afternoon as they visit Ottawa University (AZ) in Surprise at Faith Arena. First serve is scheduled for 1:00pm MST (3:00pm CST), and can be watched LIVE on the GSAC Sports Network.

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

Follow the Trojans online and on social media!

   Facebook - Trinity International Athletics         Trinity International Women's Volleyball

   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.