LA CROSSE, Wisc. – Overcoming a 2-1 deficit, Trinity rallied for the come-from-behind win on Saturday, defeating Viterbo on the road in five sets, 25-23, 16-25, 15-25, 25-18, 15-13.
The Trolls would come out to a slow start, falling behind 8-4 in the opening set and forcing an early timeout. A kill from Conner Dargan and an Ethan Oros service ace helped turn the tide, as Trinity came back with a 6-2 run in response, tying the set at 10-10. The Trolls would lead 15-13 after scoring four in a row, highlighted by two kills from Ean Schultz. Viterbo would briefly move back in front, as both sides traded three-point runs, before a kill from Sam Cain gave the Trolls a 22-18 edge. The V-Hawks would score five of the next seven, but C.J. Lafin would give Trinity set point with a kill at 24-21, and Schultz would close out the first set with another kill three plays later.
Viterbo would bounce back in game two, using a five-point run to go up early, 7-3. The home team would increase their lead to 12-6 with another long rally, scoring four straight, and would put the set away with a 10-1 run late in the set to lead 23-10. The Trolls would respond with a five-point rally late to close the gap but would run out of time on a comeback.
The V-Hawks would lead game three wire-to-wire, building up a 20-8 lead after siding out the Trolls on their first eight serves. Trinity came back with four in a row to build some momentum down the stretch, but would fall behind in the match two sets to one.
Trinity would keep things close to start the next set, as game four saw nine ties and three lead changes before three straight kills from Zach Supanich led to a 12-9 lead for the Trolls. Trinity would use a 6-2 run to extend their lead, using four Viterbo errors to go up 18-13. Trinity closed out the win with four of the last five points, with Austin Risser scoring the final kill to extend the match into a fifth set.
In the final game the Trolls built an early lead, with blocks from Brendan Rushton, Schultz, and Supanich helped fuel a 5-0 lead. Viterbo came back with four in a row, and pulled to within a point of the Trolls five times throughout the set but never tied the score, as Rushton closed out the win with a kill on the final play.
Supanich and Dargan each finished with a team-high eight kills on the day, with three more Trolls scoring seven kills apiece. Tim Slattery collected 30 assists, while Samuel Kwan led the back row with 17 digs.
The Trolls will look to make it two conference wins in a four-day span, when they return to DeVos Gymnasium to host Calumet. Tipoff on Tuesday, March 4 is set for 7:00 p.m.
