PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. – In the final women's volleyball match inside DeVos Gymnasium, Trinity Women's Volleyball put on a show worthy of the historic moment, coming back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Governors State in five sets in a CCAC Tournament quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday night.
The team's seniors led the way throughout the night, as Sharide Sykes recorded her fifth triple-double of the year with 28 assists, 15 digs, and 10 kills. Sarah Neighbors led the attack with a match-high 16 kills to go along with 12 digs, and Dej'a Williams tallied 13 kills with a .423 attack percentage. On the back row, Jorieliss Caraballo anchored the defense with 17 digs.
The Trolls came out strong in front of the raucous crowd, opening a 9-3 lead in the first set with kills from four different players, and an ace from Gianna Dimundo. Governors State would go on a 6-1 run to close the gap but never evened the score, as Trinity closed out the set with six of the last seven points. A block from Makenzie Ritsema and Sykes would close out the game, 25-16.
Governors State answered in the second set, scoring eight in a row to turn a 4-4 score into a 12-4 lead. Trinity were unable to cut into the deficit throughout the game, as the Jaguars evened the match with a 25-18 win.
A back-and-forth game three would see the Trolls use a four-point rally to tie the game at 17-17 following kills from Neighbors and Sykes, along with an ace from Andria Ewalt. Governors State would respond with a 6-1 run, and despite kills from Alexis Bartz and Neighbors, the visitors would take the lead in the match with a game three win, 25-21.
Needing a win to extend the match, the Trolls would score five in a row highlighted by a kill and a block from both Sykes and Aolani Cannon, to go up 9-4. Another Trinity rally saw the Trolls score nine out of eleven points to extend their lead to 22-11, with Neighbors scoring the final kill at 25-14 to force a fifth set.
Three different Trolls would score kills in the opening stages of game five, giving Trinity an early 5-2 lead. The Jaguars would rally with three in a row to tie the game, but were unable to move in front, as the score was tied four times throughout the set. Ritsema would set the kill to put Trinity ahead 12-11, before a block from Cannon and Raimey Owens extended the narrow lead further. Kills from Williams and Sykes on the final two plays would close out the match and give the Trolls the 15-12 win.
With the win, Trinity advances to the CCAC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2023. The Trolls will head north to take on the regular season champs and top-seeded No. 16 Viterbo on Thursday, Nov. 13. First serve with the V-Hawks is set for 6:00 p.m.
