ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine University men's volleyball team lost both matches in tri-match against Indiana Tech and Hiram (Ohio) College at Hershey Hall in Angola, Ind.
The Thunder fell to Indiana Tech by the scores of 16-25, 15-25 and 22-25. Against Hiram, the two teams needed all five sets to determine a winner, but it was the Terriers who prevailed, 3-2, by the scores of 23-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-16 and 16-14.
In the match against the Warriors, Indiana Tech never trailed in the first set en route to the nine-point victory. In set two, Trine (3-7) led by a point early, 2-1, following a kill by freshman Chris Dargan (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln Way West). Indiana Tech then scored the next three points to take the lead and led the rest of the way to take a 2-0 match lead. The third set saw Trine start off play with a kill by freshman Parker Beale (Noblesville, Ind./Fishers) and would have a one-point margin multiple times early on. The score remained within a couple of points by either team for the majority of the set and Trine would have an 18-17 advantage after a ball handling error by Indiana Tech. The Warriors then went on a 7-2 scoring run to put a four-point cushion between them and Trine, 24-20. Indiana Tech's advantage proved to be the scoring margin it needed as the Warriors hun on for the 25-22 victory and the three-set sweep.
Beale led the Trine offense with 10 kills against the Warriors and had a .241 attack percentage. Senior Hunter Monday (Beech Grove, Ind./Lutheran) had 28 of the team's 29 set assists and was also the team leader in digs with nine. Sophomore Kyle Dixon (Lockport, Ill./Locport Township) was second in digs with seven.
Against Hiram, the first two sets were heavily contested as both games were decided by a pair of points. Trine led by three points late in the first set, 24-21, but Hiram would work its way to a one-point difference, 24-23, before Beale recorded the final Trine point on a kill to take the set. The Thunder had a slight two-point edge late in set number two, 23-21, following back-to-back kills by Dargan and Beale forcing a Hiram timeout. Following the timeout, the Terriers tallied four straight points to complete a come-from-behind win and even the match at a set apiece.
The third set saw Trine pull away in the latter half of the game that included a five-point advantage for the first time after three straight Trine kills, including two by Beale, for a score of 21-16. Hiram made things interesting by getting back to within three points, 23-20, but a service ace by Dargan following a Hiram service error, sealed the victory for the home squad, 25-20, and a 2-1 match lead.
Hiram tallied the first three points in the fourth set on its way to an early 6-1 advantage and never trailed in the game. The Terriers led by as many as 12 points, 21-9, en route to the 25-16 final to even the match at 2-2 and forced a deciding set. After falling behind by five points, 10-5, Hiram rallied and worked the set to a 12-12 tie before back-to-back points by the Terriers put the visitors in prime position, leading, 14-12. A Hiram service error and a kill by Dixon kept the game alive for Trine and deadlocked the game at 14-14. The Terriers then called timeout to end Trine's momentum and resulted in back-to-back points for Hiram to take a 16-14 set win and the overall match by the final of 3-2.
Statistically, Beale had a match-tying high 23 kills on 58 attempts for a .328 attack percentage. Dixon also finished in double figures in kills with 15 and Dargan was third with eight kills. Monday tallied 42 assists to help set up the offense and freshman Dominic Saenz (Wall Twp., N.J./Wall) had a match-tying high four aces.
Five players recorded double-digit dig totals Monday tallying a match-high 19 digs. Dixon was second with 16 digs and was followed by Beale with 12 digs. Sophomore Eric Santiago-Garcia (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Glen Ridge) and Saenz rounded out the leaders with 11 and 10 digs, respectively. Dargan led the Thunder efforts at the net with six total blocks (all assists) and Beale was second with four (four assists).
Trine will travel to Adrian, Mich. on Tuesday, Feb. 18 to take on Adrian College in the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League opener. The two teams are set to face each other at 7 p.m.