CHICAGO, IL—On October 18th, the Trojans were all but ousted from the CCAC regular season title chase when they suffered a painful defeat in front of their home crowd to the Cougars of St. Xavier. Not only did the Trojans avenge the loss on Thursday night, emerging victorious in a five-set thriller, but they celebrated more than just the victory when it was all said and done, as standout setter Anna Skrzypchak topped 3000 career assists in the contest and outside hitter Lana Vujosevic landed her 750th career kill.

The battle was as advertised right from the start, with the opposing squads going blow for blow, leading to a 12-12 deadlock in the opening set. It was then that the Cougars caught fire, striking for six scores in a row and riding the momentum to a 22-18 advantage late in the frame. Backed into a corner and likely experiencing flashbacks to their October defeat, the Trojans galvanized and uncorked a brilliant run, recording seven kills on seven consecutive points to come from behind and snatch the opening set. Fifth-year standout Brianna Torres continued to be the Trojans' go-to attacker, picking up four of the seven kills during the streak to bring her total for the set to seven as the Trojans navigated their way to a 1-0 edge in the contest.

The Trojan dominance continued in the second set, with Trinity surging ahead to an 8-4 lead, but the Cougars reeled in the deficit with five straight points of their own to reclaim the advantage. Neither team could pull away in the middle portion of the frame, but the Cougars managed to stash a slight advantage, giving themselves multiple chances to down the Trojans as they led 24-22. The Trojans were again unperturbed by the late deficit, fending off a pair of Cougar set points when Torres and rookie sensation Theresa Romero teamed up for a timely block before Trinity's star attacker Lana Vujosevic took a Jaylyn Freeman feed and bashed it downward to even the score. While the Trojans took advantage of an error to produce a set point of their own, the Cougars eventually found their rhythm and rattled off three straight scores to even the match at one set apiece.

The all-important third stanza would prove to be an outlier in the otherwise hard-fought, tightly contested battle. Turning the page faster than a person thumbing a flip book, the Trojans raced ahead to a 12-4 lead on the merits of an 8-0 run. Just as the Cougars had begun to stabilize matters, reducing the deficit to six, Trinity detonated again, rattling off six straight to establish a decisive margin. The Trojans were clicking all set long, posting an eye-popping .360 hitting percentage en route to the dominant set win. Sophomore Madison Williams strode into the spotlight to conclude matters, notching kills on four of the final five scores to seal a 25-12 set victory.

The conference-leading Cougars weren't going away without a fight however, as the fourth set resumed the pressure-packed, nip-and-tuck battle after the brief interlude. Knotted at six, the Cougars scored three straight to establish a slim lead that they would cling to for the duration of the set. Despite the best efforts of Vujosevic, who notched a pair of kills and added to her team-leading total with her 44th ace, and Romero, who posted a trio of kills, the Trojans never led after holding a 6-5 advantage. While the Cougars retained the upper hand, Trinity continued to scrap and keep things close before St. Xavier delivered the knockout blow, a string of four consecutive scores in the waning moments that stretched the margin to 24-17. While the Trojans battled to the last, repelling potential set-sealing scores on three occasions, the Cougars eventually finished the deal, setting up a winner-take-all tiebreaker set to 15.

It had seemed inevitable that the pair of conference powerhouses would go to the maximum to decide matters on Thursday night, so it was no surprise to anyone on the floor or in the stands when the deciding set got underway. The Trojans came out swinging, taking advantage of a trio of errors and a Romero kill to nab a 4-1 lead. The Cougars clawed back once more before shocking the Trojans by scoring four times consecutively to establish a 10-8 advantage. Again sensing the urgency, the Trojans played their best ball of the evening with all still to play for, with Romero and Nadia Wheeler forming an impenetrable barrier, teaming up for three blocks as Trinity rattled off five straight points to pull ahead 14-11 and set up match point. Moments later, Torres obliterated a pinpoint feed from Trinity's workhorse setter Anna Skrzypchak to seal the deal and give the Trojans an outstanding season-closing victory.

Several Trojans stood out in the remarkable triumph, with Torres (16 kills), Williams (13), and Vujosevic (11, including the 750th of her Trojan career) spearheading the Trinity attack. Trinity's star libero and reigning conference Defender of the Week Jaylyn Freeman showed why she received the honor, racking up a game-high 22 digs. Romero provided a remarkable net-front presence, totaling a stunning 10 blocks to compliment her eight kills. But among all the Trojans that excelled on Thursday night, none had a more meaningful game than Anna Skrzypchak, whose 37 assists propelled her into the history books as she became just the third Trojan in the program's proud history to reach the 3000-assist plateau.

After finishing the regular season on a high note, the Trojans (24-8) will host their opening round CCAC match on Tuesday night as they seek to ride their momentum all the way to a conference tournament title.

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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.