NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The Trine University men's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (14-25, 19-25, 21-25) defeat against Baruch (N.Y.) College in a non-conference match in New York, N.Y.
Trine (3-12) fell behind early by a 5-0 margin in the first set, but worked its way back to within a point thanks to a 5-1 scoring run that included kills by freshmen Dominic Saenz (Wall Twp., N.J./Wall), Parker Beale (Noblesville, Ind./Fishers) and sophomore Kyle Dixon (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Twp.) to make the score 6-5. Baruch (11-6) then took control with seven straight points to take an eight-point lead, 13-5. The Bearcats maintained their sizeable lead the rest of the way and went on to win by the final of 25-14 to take a 1-0 match advantage.
In the second set, Trine had an early 3-1 lead highlighted by back-to-back kills by Beale and Saenz. The Thunder increased their lead to three points, 6-3, when Baruch tallied three straight points to even the game at 6-6. Dixon and Beale tallied kills to regain the lead for Trine, 8-6, and later matched their earlier three-point margin by a score of 11-8. Baruch then went on a 5-0 run to take a 13-11 lead and never trailed again. Trine got back to within a point multiple times before the Bearcats got the breathing room it needed with another 5-0 spurt to increase the deficit to five points, 20-15, and went on to claim the set by a final of 25-19 and take a 2-0 match lead.
The third set saw the two teams play a close game which included a three-point advantage for Trine following a kill by sophomore Eric Santiago-Garcia (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Glen Ridge) that made the score 12-9. The momentum then swung in Baruch's favor with four unanswered points that put the Bearcats ahead, 13-12. Trine later regained the lead and had a 19-18 edge after a kills by sophomore Dan Boren (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) when Baruch rattled off four straight points to go ahead on the scoreboard for good en route to the 25-21 final and the 3-0 match victory.
The duo of Dixon and Beale led the Trine offense with seven kills each. Boren was third with five kills. Senior Hunter Monday (Beech Grove, Ind./Lutheran) and freshman Ethan Howard (South Whitley, Ind./Witko) both finished with double-digit assist totals with Monday tallying a team-high 15 assists and Howard had 12 assists.
Santiago-Garcia posted a match-high 10 digs to help lead the Thunder defense. Dixon and Boren rounded out the dig leaders with five each.
Trine will wrap-up its spring trip to the "city that never sleeps" when the Thunder take on the College of Mount St. Vincent tomorrow (Friday, Mar. 6). The two teams are set to face each other at 7 p.m. in New York, N.Y.