BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- After losing the first two sets, the No. 18-ranked Illinois Wesleyan volleyball team rallied to claim the final three sets and take a five-set decision from No. 6-ranked Trinity (Texas) in the Holiday Inn Express Classic II at the Shirk Center on Friday, Sept. 21.

In winning by scores of 22-25, 16-25, 25-23, 30-28, 16-14, Illinois Wesleyan improved to 7-5 while the Tigers are now 10-4 after losing earlier in the day to nationally-ranked Chicago, 3-1.

The Titans hit .476 in the deciding fifth set with 11 kills in 21 tries with one error. For the match, IWU had a .176 hitting percentage with 63 kills and 30 miscues in 188 attempts. Trinity had a .316 hitting percentage on 72 kills in 174 attempts with 17 errors.

Senior Rachel Burkman led IWU with 20 kills while senior Tyler Brown added 15 kills and made a team-high 25 digs. Sophomore Jessica McCall also had 10 kills and senior Heidi Dague made nine.
Senior Leah Seielstad paced Illinois Wesleyan in set assists with 29 with freshman Madi Corey making 22. Seielstad had eight digs and freshman Amber Juarez had 11.

For Trinity, Katrina Lieberman had 57 assists to go with 17 digs while Emily Ellis tied for the team lead with 16 kills and five blocks.
Sarah Mullens had a team-best three service aces and Avery Tuggle picked up 16 kills and 12 digs.

The Titans continue play in their own Holiday Inn Express Classic II at 10:30 a.m. Saturday against Texas Lutheran and again at 3:30 p.m. against Williams College.