ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's volleyball team was defeated by Thiel College on Sunday afternoon 3-1 in a tight match with three sets being contested by three or less points.
The Thunder (0-7) drop their second match at home this season and seventh overall while the Tomcats (1-0) win their opening match of the 2022 season. Overall, there were 40 times where the score was tied and 15 lead changes
The opening set was back-and-forth for the duration. There were 13 instances where the score was tied and the lead changed hands three times. Trine had a match-high hitting percentage of .333 (18 kills, four errors) and defeated Thiel on sideouts 79% to 75%.
Ted Hofmeister [Powell, Ohio / Saint Charles] recorded two kills in the first two points for the Thunder and a block by Sam Buckingham [Saginaw, Mich. / Nouvel Catholic Central] and Ethan Howard [South Whitley, Ind. / Witko] tied the match up at seven. Six points out of eight went to Trine as the Thunder took a slight edge 13-11.
Two would be the largest lead for either team the rest of the way. Following a timeout by Head Coach William Dowdy, Hofmeister was able to slam home his fifth kill to win the first 25-23. Landon Barrow [Noblesville, Ind. / Noblesville] had an impactful set with four kills.
Unfortunately, the second set would be decisive in favor of the visitors. The Tomcats were 89% on sideouts and utilized a 7-3 start to cruise to a match-evening second set win. Thiel was successful on seven of the final eight points in the 25-18 victory. Kevin Boncaro [Rochester, N.Y. / Rush Henrietta] and Buckingham led Trine with three kills each in the loss.
The momentum-swinging set three started even, but the Thunder notched a pair of big-time blocks from the pair of Buckingham and Kyle Dixon [Lockport, Ill. / Lockport Township] as well as a solo block by Barrow. Trine forced a Tomcat timeout when they scored four in a row to take a 12-10 advantage.
A service error by Thiel gave Trine their largest lead of the set at 17-14, but the Tomcats claimed nine of the next 12 points to go up 23-20. A Buckingham kill tried to keep the Thunder afloat, but were downed 25-23 to fall behind 2-1.
Barrow swung for a kill on a dig that crossed the net to begin set number four, but the next two points would go Thiel's way and the Tomcats took a 13-9 edge in the early goings. The trio of Howard, Hofmeister and Barrow had a string of kills to tie the match up at 20.
Thiel called for a break a few points later with the score tied at 23, forcing Trine to dig deep to continue the match. Facing two match points, Dixon had a kill to make it 25-25, and Buckingham blocked a Tomcat attack to even it at 26-26. Despite great effort, Thiel would be able to score on the next two serves and claim the 28-26 set four win.
Hofmeister had a season-high in kills (16), digs (14) and points (17.0). Barrow hit for a team-high .400 with a career-best 11 kills. Buckingham had three solo blocks and chipped in on two more to lead the front row. Howard finished at 44 assists (career-high) in his first match of the 2022 campaign.
Trine men's volleyball looks to regroup before taking the road on Friday, January 28 at Rockford University. First serve is scheduled for 8 pm.