OLIVET, Mich. – The Trine University men's volleyball team defeated Olivet College on the road Wednesday night 3-0 in Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) competition.
The Thunder (11-12, 3-3 MCVL) had 17 kills in a monster set one victory and kept the Comets (4-13, 0-6) on their heels the entire evening with efficient swings.
Trine rattled off 11 in a row to take a 13-2 lead in the first. Not even an Olivet timeout could stop the wave of momentum for the Thunder offense. Matt Stillman [Mokena, Ill. / Lincoln Way Central] and Kyle Dixon [Lockport, Ill. / Lockport Township] had two kills each during the scoring spree. Ted Hofmeister [Powell, Ohio / Saint Charles] led a 7-0 run to claim a 20-3 advantage while the team coasted to a 25-10 victory in the first. Landon Barrow [Noblesville, Ind. / Noblesville] finished it off with a feed from Ryan McDonald [New Lenox, Ill. / Lincoln Way West].
The second was a little more even, but a new cast of characters entered the fray. Nick Woolley [Plainfield, Ill. / Plainfield North] had two kills to open the set and had three service aces en route to a 19-11 lead. Daniel Boren [Fort Wayne, Ind. / Homestead], Sam Buckingham [Saginaw, Mich. / Nouvel Catholic Central] and Carter Steffgen [Lockport, Ill. / Lockport Township] were heavy offensive contributors as well in the 25-16 win in the second set.
Ethan McLenon [Overland Park, Kans. / Saint James Academy] and Dominic Saenz [Wall Twp., N.J. / Wall] helped Trine battle in the third on their way to a 10-5 lead. Olivet was able to continue to stay engaged and eventually tied the match up at 23, however an error and Sam Bhandal [Marysville, Wash. / Marysville] serve resulting in a kill by McLenon to finish off the match.
Boren led the way in a balanced scoring attack with seven kills. McDonald was the team's leading assist man with 38 and the only player to see action in all three sets. Hunter Haas [Cincinnati, Ohio / Bishop Moeller] and Nate Unsicker [Woodridge, Ill. / Downers Grove South] led the defense with six and five digs apiece.
Trine returns home this weekend for the final action of the regular season, and the decider of a potential postseason entry for the team. The journey starts on Saturday, April 2 at 1 pm when the Thunder host Baldwin Wallace University.