AURORA, Ill. – The Trine University men's volleyball team were unable to pick up a victory on Saturday night in a tri-match with Judson University and Aurora University.
The Thunder (0-6) were defeated 3-1 by the Judson Eagles (2-0) and were swept by the host institution, the Aurora Spartans (1-1), 3-0.
TRINE vs JUDSON:
The Thunder fell behind in the first set 3-0 and 7-4, but a string of three points in a row with a service ace by Landon Barrow [Noblesville, Ind. / Noblesville] knotted the score up at seven. Sam Buckingham [Saginaw, Mich. / Nouvel Catholic Central] and Kevin Boncaro [Rochester, N.Y. / Rush Henrietta] combined for a block to give Trine their first lead of the game at 9-8 and force Judson into a timeout.
The break would be effective for the Eagles as they scored on seven of the next nine serves to force Head Coach William Dowdy into calling for time. It would be a similar run to end the game for Judson that would put the first set to bed 25-19.
Ted Hofmeister [Powell, Ohio / Saint Charles], Ryan McDonald [New Lenox, Ill. / Lincoln Way West] and Carter Steffgen [Lockport, Ill. / Lockport Township] all had kills en route to an 8-0 start for the Thunder in set two. As quickly as Trine got ahead, eight of the next 10 points would be awarded to the Eagles to make it 10-8 Thunder.
Judson put together seven consecutive points to get ahead 18-14, but Trine showed fight to battle back with their backs against the wall. Trailing 24-22, the Thunder rattled off four straight to stun the Eagles 26-24 and even the match at 1-1.
The third set was back-and-forth with Boncaro and Barrow leading the way offensively. Down 10-9, Judson put together four scores out of five to take a four-point edge, 14-10. Hofmeister had a pair of kills down the stretch, but unfortunately, Trine could not find the same magic from set two and were defeated 25-20.
An early five-point scoring run by the Eagles allowed the opponents to claim a 7-4 advantage which resulted in a Thunder timeout. Trine would use a second break down 21-13, which turned momentum a tad with Boncaro, Steffgen and Barrow scoring via kills on three straight rallies. Judson matched with three points of their own and secured the match three sets to one with a 25-18 fourth set win.
48 kills and 48 digs are the most in a match this season for Trine men's volleyball. Hofmeister (14) and Boncaro (10) were in double figures for kills and Nate Unsicker [Woodridge, Ill. / Downers Grove South] tied with Hofmeister with 12 digs defensively. The freshman McDonald recorded 40 assists, a career-best.
AURORA vs TRINE:
The Thunder shot themselves in the foot in set one of the Aurora match with nine errors and a negative hitting percentage. Steffgen led the way with two kills in a 25-18 first set loss to the Spartans.
Hofmeister started set two strong for Trine with a pair of kills and Sam Bhandal [Marysville, Wash. / Marysville] recorded a service ace to tie the set up at five. From there, Aurora scored 10 of the next 12 points to take a commanding 15-7 edge. Hofmeister had kills in three straight Thunder points to try to mount a comeback, but the deficit was too much to overcome in a 25-18 set two loss.
Hofmeister and Kyle Dixon [Lockport, Ill. / Lockport Township] started set three on the right foot with kills to go up 2-0 and Trine maintained the momentum to go up 9-7. Following two Spartan points, the Thunder rattled off four in a row, highlighted by a pair of kills from Boncaro.
Trine took a five-point lead on a Boncaro service ace (18-13) and a six-point lead on a kill from Dixon (21-15), but Aurora battled back in an attempt to pull off the sweep. The Spartans evened the match at 24, before scoring the final two points to win 26-24 and claim victory.
Hofmeister hit the ball exceptionally well with 11 kills and only one error (.588 hitting percentage). Unsicker chipped in with a team-high nine digs in the loss.
Trine returns home tonight and will square off with Thiel College on Sunday, January 23 at 1 pm inside Hershey Hall.