Palos Heights, Ill. - Trinity Christian College men's volleyball (5-5, 1-1 CCAC) came out of the gate Wednesday night and punched #15 Saint Xavier (7-5, 2-0 CCAC) in the mouth. A 12-5 lead in the first set quickly drew the attention of the nationally ranked Cougars. Saint Xavier eventually got rolling, and won in straight sets, 25-19, 25-22, 25-15. 

During the early 12-5 burst for the Trolls, it was a combination of sophomore Alex Costa and senior Adam Becker creating problems for the Cougars. Costa had a pair of service aces and kills while Becker added one kill and one ace. The Cougars NAIA All-American, senior Grant Ooms, showed why he's one of the best players in the conference. He led the comeback in the first set and the Cougars won, 25-19.

In the second set, it was a back-and-forth affair. The Trolls stuck to the Cougars as the two squads continued to trade leads. The largest lead for either team was three points and it only happened when Saint Xavier closed out the set on a kill, 25-22. 

In the third set, Saint Xavier ripped off the first five points forcing the Trolls to call timeout. Whatever head coach Rob Prohaska said worked. Trinity scored the next seven points as Costa kept serving. He chipped in two aces during the run and the Trolls led 7-5. The Saint Xavier onslaught didn't take long to get going again. They finished the night with a kill percentage of .343 and it was Ooms leading the way. He had 15 kills on the evening and Saint Xavier won the third set 25-15. 

NOTES & NUMBERS:

• Sophomore Mike Hay played a pivotal role in the first set. He had three blocks for the match along with three kills. He did it on an efficient attack percentage of .333 (3-1-6). 
• Costa not only led the Trolls in kills, but he also had five digs to go with his four aces. 
• It was another double-digit assist night for both sophomore Ryan Schmidt and sophomore Nick Mioni. Schmidt had 11 assists and Mioni contributed 10.
• Saint Xavier had 15 service aces compared to nine for Trinity Christian College.

UP NEXT: The Trolls will take on Judson University (9-2, 3-0 CCAC) inside DeVos Gymnasium next Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.