Twenty-five years of suffering to one opponent came to an impressive end Aug. 31 for the Triton College volleyball team. The Trojans snapped a 47-game losing streak to Harper College with one of their best performances in head coach Guy Lum's four-year tenure in a 25-19, 25-17, 25-16 win over the Hawks at the Jorndt Athletic Complex gymnasium.  
 
Many of Harper's wins over Triton during this span came when the schools were members of the old North Central Community College Conference (N4C) that eventually dissolved in 2023. The Trojans last victory came in an N4C contest in October of 2001.
 
Triton (2-2) nearly ended the streak a year ago, losing to Harper (5-5) in five heartbreaking sets.
 
"We were close last year against them, but they rallied to beat us in five sets after we won the first two'" Lum said. "For us to finally get over the hump means a lot to the team and our program."
 
A key reason for the victory was how clean a game the Trojans played, committing only 25 errors in the match. Meanwhile, the Hawks made 47 errors and never held more than a two-point lead at any time during the contest.
 
"We worked on cleaning up those unforced errors that we lost points on in our previous match," Lum said. "I always tell the team that we have the physical skill to beat anyone, we just needed to sure up our mental game."
 
Triton created serving pressure with 11 aces and had a 91 percent serving average. The Trojans had a .174 hitting percentage compared to Harper's .000 hitting percentage. Defensively, Triton posted 39 digs.
 
Top performers for the Trojans were:
 
Ana Gonzalez (Proviso West): 10 kills, and a .269 hitting percentage
Ulyana Sydorchuk (Leyden): 10 kills and a team high .286 hitting percentage
Skyler DeSomer (Cary): four kills, a hitting percentage of .231, seven assists and three blocks.
Thea Tamondong (Niles West): 16 assists, three aces, and five digs.
April Salgado (Plano): 16 digs, three aces, and a 1.91 serve receive rating
 
Triton will be back at the Jorndt Athletic Complex gymnasium on Wednesday (Sept. 2) when they will entertain Kankakee Community College. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Follow Triton Athletics on Twitter @TritonTrojans1 or on Instagram @Triton_College_Athletics