BANNOCKBURN, IL—It may have been just another Tuesday night to the rest of humanity, but the Trojan faithful had this date circled on their calendars for weeks. At 7 p.m. inside Van Dixhorn Arena, the Trojans finally squared off with their primary conference foe—the CCAC-leading Cougars of St. Xavier—face to face.

The conference showdown carried tremendous weight for both squads, with St. Xavier looking to lock down a nearly insurmountable three-match lead in the CCAC standings, while the Trojans sought to trim Xavier's advantage to just one match, a margin they could knock out entirely with another victory in the two squads' regular season-ending clash.

In front of an energetic crowd of some 125 fans, mostly clad in the Trojan blue and white, the two teams waged war in the opening set. The Cougars came out swinging, scoring four straight points to claim a 4-1 advantage, but Trinity fought back, cutting the deficit to just 8-7 behind a pair of kills from newly minted CCAC Attacker of the Week Brianna Torres and a duo of service aces from specialist Desirae Pisano. However, the Cougars caught fire after the Trojan surge, riding their momentum to a 25-14 set victory.

Sensing the urgency of the moment, the Trojans rallied to start set two, jumping ahead to a 5-1 lead. The Cougars battled back, evening it up at five, but the Trojans showed their resilience once again, rattling off five straight to establish a 10-5 lead. A Cougar timeout completely shifted the momentum however, with St. Xavier rattling off a 9-1 run to retake the advantage. Trinity continued to scrap, keeping things close down the stretch, but three straight Cougar scores late eventually proved to be too much for the Trojans, as St. Xavier claimed a 25-20 set win and a commanding two sets to none advantage.

With their backs to the wall in set number three, the Trojans faltered out of the gate, falling behind 13-6 to get things going. Once more, the Trojans showed their toughness, scoring five straight with the last two CCAC Attackers of the Week, Torres and Lana Vujosevic, recording kills amid another solid stretch of service by Pisano. The two squads exchanged scores down the stretch, with both teams playing at an elite level in a nip-and-tuck battle. Ultimately, the Cougars again caught lightning in a bottle at the most important time, surging for five straight points to set up a 25-18 set win and seal the match.

Reigning CCAC Defender of the Week Jaylyn Freeman led the team in digs alongside veteran setter Anna Skrzypchak with nine a piece while senior Desirae Pisano nailed three service aces, two back to back.

While the Trojans didn't come up with the desired result, they once again showed that they can compete with the very best this level has to offer, making every set competitive despite falling in three on a night where they didn't have their best stuff (.032 hitting percentage as a team). Trinity's loss puts them at 8-3 in conference, tied for third place and still within shouting distance of the undefeated Cougars, but they'll need some help and most likely a victory over St. Xavier in their final conference match to lay claim to their first conference title since 2006.

The Trojans (19-7) will look to get back to their winning ways after a quick turnaround when they travel to Trinity Christian for a Thursday night showdown.