ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine University men's volleyball team won both matches against Olivet (Mich.) College, 3-0 and 3-0, in Midwest Collegiate Athletic League (MCVL) competition at Hershey Hall in Angola, Ind.
The Thunder defeated the Comets in the first match by the scores of 25-20, 25-13 and 25-13. Junior Dan Boren (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) led Trine offensively with seven kills. The duo of sophomores Parker Beale (Noblesville, Ind./Fishers) and Dominic Saenz (Wall Twp., N.J./Wall) both were tied for second with six kills each. Sophomore Ethan Howard (South Whitley, Ind./Witka) set up the offense with a match-high 26 assists and also had a match-tying high three service aces along with Beale.
Freshman Hunter Haas (Cincinnati, Ohio/Bishop Moeller) tallied a match-high 14 digs and was followed by Beale with nine digs. Freshman Matt Stillman (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln Way Central) had a match-best six total blocks (one solo and five assists) and junior Kyle Dixon (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Twp.) was second with three blocks (one solo and two assists).
Trine (7-3, 7-3 MCVL) started off the first set in the opening match with three straight points thanks to consecutive kills by Beale, Dixon and Saenz and later had a 4-1 advantage. Olivet (0-10, 0-10 MCVL) responded to even the game at 5-5 thanks to an ensuing 4-1 scoring run of its own. The two teams then went back-and-forth with neither squad leading by more than a couple of points until the Thunder finally were able to separate themselves late in the set with a 6-1 run with the score tied at 16-16. During the run, Howard recorded an ace and Saenz and Boren both tallied kills en route to a 22-17 margin. Olivet got no closer than three points the rest of the way as the winning point came on a Comet error as Trine claimed the 25-20 victory.
In set number two, Trine jumped out to a 7-1 lead and never looked back. The Thunder led by as many as 11 points in the game, including a 24-13 lead for set point following a kill by Dixon. Dixon also assisted on the ensuing rally as he and Stillman blocked an attack attempt by Olivet to win the game (25-13) and give Trine a 2-0 overall match lead.
Olivet led 3-1 early in the third set, but Trine then went on a 9-1 scoring run highlighted by a pair of kills by junior Eric Santiago-Garcia (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Glen Ridge) and two aces by Saenz that put the Thunder out in front by a score of 10-4. Olivet later made it a four-point game, 15-11, but that's as close as the Comets got the remainder of the set. Leading by a margin of 19-13, Trine put the game away with six straight points that included kills by Santiago-Garcia, freshman Sam Bhandal (Marysville, Wash./Marysville) and freshman Alex Menelli (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield East) en route to the 25-13 final and the three-set match win, 3-0.
Trine looked to continue its momentum in the second match of the day and won by the scores of 25-18, 25-19 and 25-20.
In the first set, the Thunder opened up a 10-3 lead when a 4-1 run by Olivet cut the advantage to four points, 11-7. An Olivet error, followed by a kill by Boren, gave Trine a little breathing room with a six-point margin and eventually went on to lead by as many as eight points multiple times with the last one being a score of 24-16 following a kill by Boren. The Comets tallied two quick points to keep the game alive until Trine got the final point it needed on an Olivet error on the third set point opportunity to get the 25-18 win.
Olivet took a 10-5 lead in the second game, but Trine responded with a 10-2 run to swing momentum back in the Thunder's favor to lead by a ascore of 15-12. The Comets later tied the game at 16-16 before five straight points for Trine aided by a kill from Stillman and an ace by freshman Ted Hofmesiter (Powell, Ohio/Saint Charles), gave Trine control of the set, 20-16. Shortly after, back-to-back kills by Beale put Trine in set point, 24-19, and then an ace by Stillman sealed the game (25-19) and took a 2-0 match lead.
The third set began again with Olivet taking the early lead and led by as many as four points, 8-4. Trine worked its way back with a 5-1 run to even the game at 9-9, but found itself down by a point, 11-10, a few points later. Three straight points by Trine, that included an ace and kill by Dixon, gave Trine the lead for good despite Olivet evening the score several times before the Thunder began to pull away later in the set. Leading by a point, 20-19, Trine sealed the win with a 4-0 run and got the win two points later on a kill by Dixon for the 25-20 win and the 3-0 match sweep.
Beale led both squads in kills in the second match with 11 and Stillman was second with nine kills. Santiago-Garcia rounded out the top three with eight kills. Howard had 34 assists to lead all players and he was also second on the team in digs with 10.
Haas had a match-high 12 digs and Boren had a team-high two total blocks (two assists).
Trine will next travel to Alliance, Ohio for two matches against MCVL opponent University of Mount Union next Sunday, Mar. 7. The first match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.