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Chicagoland collegiate athletic conference
Trinity Christian Advances to Championship Match
Posted: Nov 12, 2010

Trinity Christian Advances to Championship Match

Trinity Christian College advances to the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament Championship Match with a victory over the University of St. Francis in the semifinal round. The Trolls defeated the Saints in four sets with scores of 25-18, 17-25, 25-23, and 25-19. The victory makes Trinity 28-6 overall, the most match wins for the program in 22 years, and ends St. Francis' season at 26-13.

The Trolls took the advantage with a win in the first set. Earlier in the set Trinity was able to get the lead and, with a series of four errors by St. Francis, they went ahead 9-4. Trinity continued to stay on top of the scoreboard, stretch the gap to eight points at 18-10, and eventually finish the set at 25-18.

In the second set St. Francis jumped to 4-0 start and did not relinquish the top spot. Ahead 13-10 the Saints stretched the lead to 17-12 behind three kills by Krysten Becker. The gap widened to seven points at 21-14 and on an ace serve by Ashley Richards they took the set 25-17.
Tied 1-1, the third set become pivotal in terms of momentum. Tied 7-7 Trinity rallied off four points with kills from Betsy Holman and Taylor Lee to jump ahead 11-7. Later back-to-back kills by Sara Ooms and Hannah Petroelje put the Trolls up by six, 17-11. St. Francis rallied back and pulled to within a point at 23-22. A kill by Ooms put Trinity at set point, but the Saints' Lauren Hoffman answered with a kill to make it 24-23. The Trolls earned the set point on a service error by St. Francis.
Trinity started the fourth set with five kills to jump ahead 5-0. From there they never gave up the lead, going ahead by as much as seven and never less than three. Trinity was still in charge at 19-12 when St. Francis closed the gap to 22-17. Ahead 24-19, the Trolls earned the match victory on an assisted block by Hannah Petroelje and Sara Ooms.
On paper the teams were very evenly match in almost every statistical category. Trinity had 51 kills, 47 assists, 72 digs, six ace serves, and seven team blocks. St Francis ended with 49 kills, 46 assists, 78 digs, six ace serves, and six team blocks. Sara Ooms and Hannah Petroelje led the Trolls with 13 kills each while Taylor Lee had 11. Trinity's setter Melanie Lawrence ended with 42 assists. Defensively Amber Slenk and Ellie Raebel each grabbed ten digs. The Saints were led by Jazzmyne Robbins with 12 kills while Lauren Hoffman and Kyrsten Becker each had nine. Libero Breanne Shaw had 13 digs while Becker and Dana Wettergren each had nine.
The No. 2 Trolls will host No. 4 Saint Xavier University, who defeated the No. 1 Olivet Nazarene in the other semifinal match, in the championship match on Saturday, November 13 at a time to be determined. The victory gives the Trolls a bid to the NAIA National Championships for the first time in the program's history.