BANNOCKBURN, Ill. --- For the first time since the fall of 2019, TIU women's volleyball fans filled Van Dixhorn Arena for the first competition without COVID-19 capacity restrictions as the Trojan hosted the Cardinal Stritch Wolves in their home opener on Tuesday night. Coming off a difficult weekend where they dropped three consecutive matches in Arizona, the Trojans looked to rebound as they returned to familiar territory in the confines of their own arena.

Fans would not be disappointed as TIU and CSU battled back and forth in their first meeting since last season's CCAC Tournament quarterfinal that saw Cardinal Stritch upset TIU. Trinity led from start to finish in the opening set, winning 25-20 with 16 total kills. Things would get much tougher in the second however as the Wolves, who dominated up from the net, blocked their easy to a narrow three point win, 25-22.

Trinity's struggles continued in the third as CSU built a seven point lead midway through the third set. While the Trojans were able to cut the lead down to as little as three, the Wolves were able to take control thanks to a series of light lob passes over the net out of the reach of the TIU defense. After a 25-21 win in the third by the Wolves. Trinity was able to roar back with an impressive fourth set that came down to the wire, as TIU scored the final two points of the frame on a CSU error and a Matty Hawkins kill to win 25-23 and force a decisive fifth set.

After Cardinal Stritch jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the final set, Trinity would pull within one point at 11-10. Unfortunately, it would be the CSU offense that would prevail scoring four of the final five points to win the frame 15-11, and hand the Trojans the tough 3-2 loss in the match.

Middle blocker Matty Hawkins led the Trinity offense with 15 kills and three total blocks in the loss, as Brianna Torres notched 14, and Grace Mauersberger recorded 13. Junior setter Anna Skrzypchak recorded 54 assists and 18 digs on defense, as Jaylyn Freeman notched 24 digs and a match-high three service aces. Off the bench, Emma Gallegos posted 13 digs.

ADDITIONAL GAME NOTES

• Matty Hawkins recorded her 301st career block in Tuesday's match, joining Dani Gisler (2003-06) and Chelsie Shields (2007-10) and the only three players in program history to reach 300 blocks in their career.

• Anna Skrzypchak notched a career-high 54 assists in the loss. 

• Defensive specialist Emma Gallegos posted a career-high 13 digs in Tuesday's match, surpassing her previous high mark of 11.

• With Tuesday's loss, the Trojans fall to 8-19 all-time against Cardinal Stritch. The Wolves have now won the last three meetings, a pair of regular season matches, and last season's CCAC Tournament matchup.

• Trinity is now 2-5 in home openers under head coach Luke Ward (since 2015).

• Tuesday's match marks the fourth consecutive loss for TIU. It is the longest losing streak for the program since losing four in a row in late August of 2019.

• TIU is 0-2 in five-set matches this season after tonight's loss. The Trojans also lost to Park University (AZ) in five sets last Friday night in Arizona.

• Blockers for both TIU and CSU were busy as the teams combined for 15 total blocks, nine coming on the part of the Wolves.

UP NEXT

The Trojans (1-6) will return to action on Thursday night as they welcome the Lynx of Lincoln College to town. First serve is scheduled for 7:00pm CST at Van Dixhorn Arena, with the game being streamed LIVE on the Trojan Sports Network. Fans are encouraged to wear camouflage outfits as part of the TIU's Student Government's theme night.

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

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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.