Grand Rapids, Mich. - Playing in their third of seven matches this week, Trinity Christian College men's volleyball (1-2) went to Mol Arena and beat Cornerstone (3-2) three sets to one. The Trolls offense needed some time to get going, but once they did, sophomore Alex Costa was a problem for the Golden Eagles. Costa reeled in his first 20 kill performance of the season.

After dropping the first set 25-22, Trinity Christian responded in a big way. A 25-18 dominant performance in set two evened things up. The Trolls jumped out to a 9-3 lead. Senior Adam Becker led the way. He had three consecutive kills early in the second set. Becker tallied 12 kills for the match.

In the third set, it was another early Trolls advantage. A hot 7-3 start gave the Trolls a lead. Cornerstone marched back though and tied things up at 21. Sophomore Ryan Schmidt settled the Trolls down. Schmidt had a big assist to Costa and then a service ace to force Cornerstone into a timeout. The Trolls wrapped up the third set on a kill from senior Jake Ostema. 

It wasn't a hot start in set four for the Trolls. They led 11-10 before rattling off a 5-1 run to get some breathing room. The Trolls started feeding the sophomore Mike Hay late. Hay ended the match with nine kills. It was Costa to bring the Trolls home with the final two swings of the night. Trinity took the fourth set 25-17.

NOTES & NUMBERS:

• The 22 kills were a season-high for Costa and just the third time in his career he has had 20 or more kills in a match. 
• Ryan Schmidt had only one match with over 40 kills last year. He's now had 42 or more kills in his first three matches this year. 
• Matt Kentner has played a big role for the Trolls to start the year. He's had eight or more digs in all three matches this season and leads Trinity Christian with an average of 2.56 digs per set.
• The Trolls had only three service aces as a team, their least amount this year.

UP NEXT: The Trolls will play host and stay home for four matches over two days in the NCCAA Invite. Play begins this Friday, Jan. 21 and concludes Saturday, Jan. 22. Trinity Christian will face Geneva College to kick off the five team round robin. First serve is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. inside DeVos Gymnasium.