POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. --- Yesterday the Trojans opened up play at the 2022 NCCAA National Tournament as the second seed. After competing in two matches of pool play, Trinity arose victorious with a 2-0 record to move onto the semifinal round!

Trinity took on the Evangels of Mid-America Christian University(MACU) in the tournament opening match. In the first set, TIU jumped ahead 8-4 following a string of errors by MACU. Trading points in the midgame, the Trojans maintained the lead throughout as they went on a kill spree with swings from Lana Vujosevic, Theresa Romero, and Halsie Keltner to take a six point lead at 21-15. A short run from the Evangels threatened to close the gap, but Brianna Torres came in with the kill to break it up and then the final point to claim the set.

The second set was tightly contested, despite TIU's struggle to convert at the net. Getting some help from the Evangels, the Trojans again took a small initial lead in the beginning, 6-2. Madison Williams turned it up a notch with consecutive kills followed by a tricky grab from setter Anna Skrzypchak who sent a quick drop over the net to a gap in the middle. Following back to back bombs fro Torres, the Trojans held a 15-9 advantage. MACU began to stir up momentum with a string of six points, interrupted by a service error at the midpoint. To squash another run, the Trojans called timeout as the Evangels took a one point lead, 19-20. Despite efforts from the Trinity front line, MACU rolled onto victory in a close set, 22-25.

Bouncing back, the Trojans again ran out to a lead with seven of the first ten points before the Evangels were able to string together consecutives scores. Tied at 8-8, Trinity hit a run as Vujosevic landed two kills on her way to a season high performance, with another from Halsie Keltner to give a four-point lead and draw a timeout from MACU. Timely, the break worked in the Evangel's favor to break the run and grab back two points before two more kills from Vujosevic and Torres. Not to be deterred, TIU took another four, going up 18-11 and MACU called for a second break. After the regroup, Trinity hit their stride once again with three kills from Romero and back to back to back aces from senior Emma Gallegos to close out the third set, 25-14 in the Trojan's favor.

Set four saw Trinity's best stat lines with 17 total kills, three errors and a .269 attacking percentage despite their only rough start. After falling behind 1-5, the Trojans turned it up and equalized the game at 7-7 capped by another kill from Vujosevic who then landed the next hit to take the lead. Again tying the score, Vujosevic crushed another swing before Madison Williams landed back to back kills assisted by Skrzypchak to retake the lead, 11-9. With score again even at 13-13, the Trojans went on a kill spree with slams from Vujosevic, Torres and Keltner to spring ahead three points and claim the lead for the final time. Riding out the victory, TIU ran for five points as the Evangels strained to put up a fight. Vujosevic landed the final blow to win the set 25-20 and claim the first match of the tournament.
Anna Skrzypchak was one assist away from tying her season best of 52 against IU South Bend in September.  While a key component to the Trojans defense, CCAC Libero of the Year, Jaylyn Freeman notched an incredible 34 digs - the highest total of her career. Rounding out the Trojan's impressive efforts were Lana Vujosevic and Brianna Torres each grabbing a double-double.
 

After an exciting opening match of the day, the Trojans took a long midday break before facing off with their next foe, the Bobcats of the College of the Ozarks. Trinity took a moment to get back into game play as they fell behind 1-4 before swiftly catching the Bobcats with back to back kills from Torres and Keltner to equalize. Tied scores and lead changes became the theme of the set, with the score qualized on 14 different occasions. After the Ozarks caught up at 20-20, the Trojans took a two point lead from consecutive kills from Williams and drew a timeout from the Bobcats. Back to back errors from the Trojans tied the score at 23-all before Coach Ward called for a break. Trinity sealed the deal with a kill from Torres and a gifted point form the Bobcats, 25-23. 

While the first set was characterized by tied scores, the second set saw a plethora of short runs from each team in the beginning and ending segments. The Trojans went up 6-3 as the Ozarks hit a string of errors, then the Bobcats followed suit as they capitalized on Trojan miscues while dropping a couple of kills to take a two point lead at 7-9. Grabbing back three, Romero and Williams both detonated on layups from Skrzypchak on her way to another stellar performance of 47 assists. Hitting the halfway portion of the set both teams swapped points as the Bobcats came out on top 14-18. Freshman Theresa Romero exploded onto the scene in what would be a career night for her, blasting four kills in five points. On a five-point run, the Trojans knotted up the score then took the lead before a brief interruption. Ultimately, the Bobcats couldn't stifle the Trojans any longer Halsie Keltner landed the final kill, taking the set 25-22.

If the crowd wasn't fired up before set three, they were on their toes for the final set as the game opened with back and forth play, leaving the Trojans behind 4-7. This time, it was Vujosevic's turn to light up, grabbing three of four kills in the Trojan's first run of the set to retake the lead 9-7. Knowing it could be the final set, the Bobcats jockeyed for the lead throughout the midgame and finally came out equal at 15-15 before taking a slight three-point advantage from Trojan errors. The Ozarks returned the favor with two errors while Romero forced another with a big block. Tied at 19-19, the crowd surged as the teams battled for the final points with neither side able to grab the sizable lead needed to end the set. With sets from both Skrzypchak and Freeman, Torres landed the final two blows to sweep the Bobcats and secure their place in the semifinal round, 30-28.

Freshman Theresa Romero had a career night, notching 14 kills and 15.5 points while leading the team in blocks. Lana Vujosevic(12 kills, 14 digs) and Brianna Torres(15 kills, 17 digs) both notched their second double-doubles of the day.

 
Following yesterday's victories, the Trojans qualified for the semifinal round to take place this evening at 6:00pm where they'll face a familiar opponent, the Eagles of Judson University. This is the second time in women's volleyball history where the team has made it through pool play, having done so over 15 years ago in 2005.

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TIU Women's Volleyball