ADRIAN, Mich. – The Trine University men's volleyball team was defeated by Adrian College on Thursday in Trine's first Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) contest of the 2022 season by a score of 3-1.
The Thunder (6-10, 0-1 MCVL) had 51 kills in the match compared to 48 for the Bulldogs (5-14, 2-2 MCVL), but held a slight disadvantage in hitting percentage .204 to .219.
In the first set, neither team held more than a three-point lead and the set was tied on 15 different occasions. Ted Hofmeister [Powell, Ohio / Saint Charles] and Landon Barrow [Noblesville, Ind. / Noblesville] led the offense with five and three kills. Ethan Howard [South Whitley, Ind. / Witko] set up Matt Stillman [Mokena, Ill. / Lincoln Way Central] for a kill that tied the match at 20, then took the lead at 21-20 via a Hofmeister kill, but four of the final five points went Adrian's way to win set one 25-22.
The second set started with more of the same, however a 10-2 run for the Bulldogs mid-set gave the home team a 17-10 edge. Daniel Boren [Fort Wayne, Ind. / Homestead] chipped in with two kills during a 9-2 scoring spell where the Thunder charged all the way back to tie the second at 22 points apiece. Adrian used both timeouts, the last of which was effective in shifting momentum. A 26-24 final tally put Trine in a 2-0 hole.
Errors by the Bulldogs allowed the Thunder to take an early lead in set three, and a string of service aces by Eric Santiago-Garcia [Dorado, Puerto Rico / Glen Ridge] allowed Trine to go ahead 17-14. The middle blocker Barrow was key late in polishing off a 25-21 set three victory to extend the match. Santiago-Garcia had a team-high four points in the third.
After getting out to a small lead in the fourth, six points out of seven went to Adrian and the Bulldogs went up four, 13-9. Carter Steffgen [Lockport, Ill. / Lockport Township] notched a service ace to knot the set up at 16 a few points later. Another 6-1 run by Adrian was enough to down the Thunder 25-22 to seal the match.
Hofmeister (15) and Barrow (11) were in double digits for kills, while Santiago-Garcia and Stillman had 11 and 10 points, respectively. Howard was the team leader in assists with 44 and digs with 12, while Hofmeister and Hunter Haas [Cincinnati, Ohio / Bishop Moeller] each had 11 digs defensively.
A pair of non-conference foes enter the confines of Hershey Hall next week, starting with the University of Jamestown on Thursday, March 10 at 7 pm.
