PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. – Trinity men's volleyball closed out the non-conference portion of their season on Saturday, as the Trolls took a tough five-set loss at the hands of Cornerstone (Mich.) inside DeVos Gymnasium.

After recognizing seniors Matt Kentner and Nick Costa, it was Alex Costa who led the Trolls (15-9) with a match-high 16 kills and 9 on the day. Ryan Schmidt tallied 28 assists, while Nick Mioni finished with 18 assists and 7 kills.

The visiting Golden Eagles (16-10) held a three-point lead midway through the first set, before scoring six of the next seven points to build a 16-10 lead. Cornerstone would close out the set on an 8-3 run to take the opener, 25-14.

The Trolls bounced back in game two, as back-to-back kills from Mioni followed by an ace from Mike Hay started a 5-1 run that put Trinity ahead 14-10. Cornerstone would close the gap down the stretch with a 4-1 run that cut the Trolls lead to 22-19, but kills from Chris Dargan and Bart Maciczak gave Trinity a 25-20 win.

Trinity came out strong in game three, jumping out to a 7-2 lead and leading start to finish. Cornerstone would pull back to within a point at 15-14, but the Trolls would finish off the set by scoring seven in a row to win 25-17.

The Golden Eagles dominated game four, scoring the first six points of the set and leading throughout. The Trolls would score a three-point rally midway through the set, but were sided out on each serve through the remainder of the set, as Cornerstone forced a fifth game with a 25-14 win.

In the decisive game, the Trolls took an early lead with three straight kills from Dargan giving the home team a 7-3 lead. Trailing 13-11, Cornerstone would overcome the late deficit, closing the match by scoring a 6-2 run in the final moments and taking the win.

The Trolls now face the last two matches of the regular season, beginning next week with a visit from Calumet. First serve with the Crimson Wave from DeVos is set for 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21.