ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's volleyball team celebrated Senior Day on Sunday prior to their match against the University of Mount Union. The team suffered a 3-2 defeat after taking Mount Union to the limit in the match, but Trine had already secured their spot in the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) Tournament.
The Thunder (12-13, 4-4 MCVL) will be the four-seed after winning a tiebreak with Adrian College and Wittenberg University and will face host and top-seed Fontbonne University on Friday, April 8 at 8 pm EST. The Purple Raiders (11-9, 7-1 MCVL) are the number two seed and square off with Mount St. Joseph University in the opening match of the Tournament.
Ethan Howard [South Whitley, Ind. / Witko] was finding Kevin Boncaro [Rochester, N.Y. / Rush Henrietta] for early kills and chipped in on a block as well, but Mount Union went up 11-7 and forced the Thunder to take the first timeout. It was an effective break as Trine rattled off four in a row led by Ted Hofmeister [Powell, Ohio / Saint Charles] and six of seven. A 6-1 scoring run late in the set put the Thunder in front 23-18 and a block by Kyle Dixon [Lockport, Ill. / Lockport Township] and Sam Buckingham [Saginaw, Mich. / Nouvel Catholic Central] helped get the 25-22 win.
The Purple Raiders used a 16-1 kill-to-error ratio in the second set to cruise to a 25-19 set win. The Thunder hit .462 in the second, not a bad number by any means, but the relentless attack by Mount Union was too much to overcome. The third set would also go to the Purple Raiders with 17 kills in the 25-18 victory.
Daniel Boren [Fort Wayne, Ind. / Homestead] was inserted into the lineup in the fourth and made an immediate impact offensively with a kill to start the set. The home squad jumped out to a 6-3 advantage, however Mount Union battled back to even the set at nine apiece. Hope looked lost down 22-18 as the Trine head coach William Dowdy called for time, but Trine used the momentum from a raucous Hershey Hall crowd to take the final seven points and force a winner-take-all fifth set.
Three straight Purple Raider errors resulted in a timeout called by the visitors, then Hofmeister and Matt Stillman [Mokena, Ill. / Lincoln Way Central] swung for kills and Boncaro blocked an opposing attack by himself. A scramble situation resulted in Boren getting the set-clinching kill to win, 25-22.
Howard started the fifth set with an ace, one of the three he had on the afternoon, but Mount Union fought tough to claim a 6-3 lead. Howard helped to get the Thunder to within one at 11-10, but the Purple Raiders ultimately took the fifth 15-12.
Against the nation's leader in blocks, this team broke their own school record with 13 total blocks. The old record was set at 12 earlier this season against Concordia University Chicago. The team's 60 kills are also a season-high for 2022 and the third-most in school history.
Hofmeister was the team leader with 18 kills and 14 digs. Boncaro was nearing a double-double as well with 14 kills and nine digs. The freshman Boncaro had two solo blocks and assisted on three this afternoon. Stillman led the way with two solo blocks and four block assists. Howard dished out 49 assists in the match, one off of his season-high. Hunter Haas [Cincinnati, Ohio / Bishop Moeller] had 13 digs and six assists.