By By: CASEY McDONALD
Staff Writer
@casey_ace13
IU South Bend volleyball took to the courts against the Trolls of Trinity Christian as they battled to gain another win at home.
The Titans started off strong, going out on an early 8-2 lead. It quickly seemed like IUSB was going to run away with it, with such high intensity among the players. They continued to lead the set until Trinity Christian took the lead at 19-18. From then on it was a back and forth match between the two Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) teams as IUSB grabbed the lead at 22-19, assisted by junior Ashli Drewes with a kill. But when it seemed like IUSB was going to take the first set after a kill by junior Morgan Fleming, the Trolls responded and took the win 26-24.
The second set had momentum just like the first, but neither team was able to claim a big lead. The Titans were able to claim the lead going into a 23-30 differential late in the set. With an intense kill by junior Sarah Allison, once again the Titans were within one point of claiming the set with the triple set point. But it was the Trolls who fought harder to win the second set 26-24.
In a match of the best of five sets, the Titans needed to grab a win in the third set in order to stay alive. A tired team, it seemed like it was the first set the Titans had to come back from behind when the Trolls took off with an 11-17 lead. Two kills from Drewes and senior Ashley McClintock along with a block from senior Jadalyn Tindall put the titans on a 5-0 run. Fighting hard against the Trolls, the Titans eventually dropped the match with a score of 22-25.
McClintock had a team high of 16 kills, two services aces and five blocks during the match. While senior Janelle Rehlander had a team high 21 digs, her second time this season recording a team high, while freshman Morgan Powell also had 13 digs on the night. Tindall finished with 24 assists.
