PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. – Dej'a Williams finished with a career-high 17 kills, but Trinity were unable to secure the win on Tuesday night, as the Trolls fell in a five-set battle to Governors State inside DeVos Gymnasium.
Williams led the way with 20 points on the night, with six block assists to go with her 17 kills. Sharide Sykes picked up another double-double with 24 assists and 16 digs, while Sarah Neighbors did the same with 11 kills and 15 digs. Jorieliss Caraballo led the back line with 19 digs as the primary libero.
Trinity came out strong in the first set, opening with a 11-6 lead highlighted by three kills from Aalyssa Gunn. Governors State would tie the game at 12-12, but the Trolls would score 11 of the final 14 to close out a 25-16 opening-set win.
A close second set would see the Jaguars use a three-point rally midway through the game to build a 16-11 lead, before the Trolls moved in front with six in a row including a Neighbors kill and an ace from Caraballo. Governors State would respond down the stretch, scoring eight of nine to earn set point, closing out the win three plays later, 25-20.
In the third set Trinity would take a 15-8 lead off of Rosalie Shaughnessy's ace, but the Jaguars would work to pull even again at 20-20. Governors State would score four of the last five to steal the set and go up 2-1 in the match.
After falling behind 6-2 in game four, the Trolls rallied and tied the game at 14-14 after kills from Aolani Cannon and Gunn. The Jaguars would reclaim a four-point edge with a 5-1 rally, but Trinity responded again, scoring a 7-1 run to go up, 23-21. The set would extend to a Jaguar match point at 27-26, but kills from Neighbors and Sykes would highlight a three-point run to take the set, 29-27.
In game five, the Trolls would lead 10-7 after an ace from Neighbors, but the Jaguars came back with four in a row to take the lead, 11-10. Kills from Makenzie Ritsema and Williams put Trinity back in front 12-11, but the Jaguars would take four of the next five to close out the night.
The Trolls will look to bounce back on Thursday, when they travel to Olivet Nazarene. First serve with the Tigers is set for 7:00 p.m.
