ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's volleyball team pulled off a thrilling 3-2 win at home on Saturday afternoon in come-from-behind fashion. Facing a 2-1 deficit, the Thunder (2-7) won sets four and five to pick up the victory over the visiting Concordia University Chicago Cougars (1-4).
A pair of school records went down in the five-set win, including team blocks (12) and individual block assists with Landon Barrow's [Noblesville, Ind. / Noblesville] eight. In back-to-back matches, head coach William Dowdy has recorded his victory Thunder win as head coach and now first triumph at home.
After a back-and-forth start, Concordia took an 11-7 advantage after scoring five of six points. Ted Hofmeister [Powell, Ohio / Saint Charles] had a kill that sparked a rally of four straight to even the set at 11.
The lead for either side would be no greater than one in the middle stages of the set, but Trine ultimately came out on top in the first by ending the set on a 7-1 scoring run. Kyle Dixon [Lockport, Ill. / Lockport Township] and Kevin Boncaro [Rochester, N.Y. / Rush Henrietta] contributed with kills in the scoring spurt. Hofmeister and Barrow combined for consecutive blocks to end the set, 25-20.
The Cougars imposed their will in the second set and forced a Thunder timeout with the home team trailing 11-7. Five of the next seven after the break went to Concordia as well and Trine fell down, 16-9. Ethan Howard [South Whitley, Ind. / Witko] posted a pair of service aces in the midst of a 5-1 run, but the Cougars would go on to score six of the last seven to even the match at one, 25-17.
Once again, Concordia took the early edge in the third and the score was 11-6 before Trine took a timeout. Dan Boren [Fort Wayne, Ind. / Homestead] notched four big time kills to give the Thunder the lead 17-16. The Cougars went up three points, but Trine was able to erase the deficit with a string of three points capped by a Dixon kill. Unfortunately, a late timeout by the Thunder was ineffective in stopping Concordia late as they escaped with a 25-22 set three win.
Trine saved their best hitting for the final two sets as they combined for 20 kills and six errors. The Cougars went up 9-5, but two block assists by Barrow helped to get the set back to even at 10 apiece. Concordia scored four consecutive points, only to be bested by seven in a row from the home squad. Hofmeister had two aces in the rally to take a 17-14 lead. Boren and Sam Buckingham [Saginaw, Mich. / Nouvel Catholic Central] rose above the net for a block that led to the Cougars taking a timeout. Hofmeister recorded a kill to finish the set at 25-19.
The fifth and final set would feature two lead changes and the score tied up five different times. Hofmeister received a pass from Hunter Haas [Cincinnati, Ohio / Bishop Moeller] for the fifth's first point. After falling behind 2-1, Trine scored four in a row to take a 5-2 advantage. The Thunder assumed control following four Concordia errors, 12-6. Five in a row from the Cougars made the Thunder faithful nervous, but Hofmeister would rise up for two more kills to complete the comeback with a 15-12 set five victory.
Hofmeister had a team-high 20 kills and Boncaro was in the mix with 10. Howard led with 16 digs and 42 assists.
Trine men's volleyball travels to the Fontbonne Invite next weekend in St. Louis, Missouri, with the first of those matches on Saturday, February 12 against Augustana College at 11 am.