BANNOCKBURN, IL—Mission accomplished. Not only did the Trojans get their outstanding season back on track on Thursday night, but they were also able to celebrate the brilliance of their fifth-year star Brianna Torres, who recorded 15 kills to bring her career total over 2,000.

Squaring off with the visiting RedHawks of Indiana University Northwest in the penultimate home clash on the Trinity schedule, the Trojans went to work in the opening set. After falling behind early, the blue-and-white rallied for five consecutive scores to seize a 9-7 advantage. The Trojans would never look back, clinging to the lead without interruption for the duration of the set en route to a 25-20 set win. Torres' brilliance was at its zenith in the initial stanza, with the Trojan star racking up a mind-bending eight kills in the set, leading the Trojans to a 1-0 advantage in the contest.

Set number two was a tightly contested affair in the early going, as the rival sides went blow for blow, leading to a 9-9 deadlock. It was then that the Trojans put it together, scoring eight of the next nine tallies to establish a decisive margin that they would parlay into a 25-19 set win. While it was the heroics of Torres that hallmarked the first set, the Trojans employed a more balanced attack in its successor, with six different Trojans notching a kill as Trinity established an imposing two-sets-to-none advantage.

With the Trojans looking to seal the deal in record time, the RedHawks provided a significant resistance with their backs to the wall in the third set. While Trinity raced ahead, 6-3, the RedHawks erased the deficit and eventually pulled away in the middle stages of the stanza. The feisty visitors continued to balloon their advantage while the Trojans struggled to find a consistent rhythm, hitting -.111 in the set. All told, the RedHawks came away with a 25-17 set win, denying the Trojans the sweep.

While the scrappy RedHawks were able to delay their fate, the Trojans were not to be denied in what would prove to be the final set. The refocused Trinity bunch rattled off seven consecutive scores to grab a 7-1 lead behind a terrific stretch of service from Jaylyn Freeman that would have doubled as a pretty good poker hand as it included a pair of aces. Having initiated the drubbing, the Trojans continued to ride their momentum to a high watermark of a 10-point lead before salting things away, 25-17. Theresa Romero was the brightest star of the concluding frame, as the standout freshman led the Trojans to the finish line with five kills.

The Trinity victory continued a sensational season, marking the 21^st win of the year and 10^th in CCAC play. The win also snapped a season-worst lull, as the string of matches leading into Thursday night was the only time this season that the Trojans had lost three out of four matches. The Trojans got contributions from a variety of sources, including Lana Vujosevic (11 kills), Romero (11 kills, .231 hitting percentage, 3 blocks), Anna Skrzypchak (game-high 41 assists), and Freeman (2 aces, game-high 29 digs). While the diverse contributions undoubtedly give the Trojans plenty of momentum heading towards the postseason, the night truly belonged to Brianna Torres, who eclipsed the 2000-kill threshold in style, reaching the milestone on the strength of a game-high 15 kills while helping lead her team to victory.

The Trojans will continue to jostle for positioning in the crowded CCAC field when they take on the Crimson Wave of Calumet College St. Joseph in Whiting, Indiana, on October 29th.