ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Trine University men's volleyball team came up just short in a pair of contests Saturday to conclude the weekend in New York, however the matches marked statistical relevance for the program and its history.
The Thunder were credited with 83 team digs in the 3-2 loss against Nazareth College, who is ranked #9 in the country. Junior Hunter Haas led the team with 22 digs in the match and crossed the 500 mark for his career. He is already the program leader in digs. Sophomore Kevin Boncaro's 25 kills is the second-most in a match all-time on 60 attempts, the most in a match in program history. Junior Sam Bhandal distributed 53 assists, good for second in the recordbooks for most in a single match.
Trine was defeated in a neutral site matchup with State University of New York (SUNY) Potsdam by a score of 3-1. The Thunder diversified their offensive efforts with three student-athletes in double figures for kills. Boncaro was the team leader with 15, while Matt Stillman had 14 and Johnson-Kuhao Ho'okano-Pelekai at 11.
TRINE vs #9 NAZARETH RECAP:
Nazareth remained undefeated on the year at 13-0 after their win over the Thunder, who end the day at 1-8 overall. A 5-0 scoring run for the Golden Flyers gave the home team an early advantage that was tough to overcome. Trine would pull back to within one at 10-9, however Nazareth would remain in front. Down 22-15, the Thunder mounted a comeback thanks to a kill by Ethan McLenon and an ace by Ted Hofmeister, but ultimately the Golden Flyers secured the win 25-21.
The second set would go to Nazareth as well by a mark of 25-22. The box score was much more balanced in the second, but a solid hitting percentage by the Golden Flyers (.306) gave them the edge. Attackers Stillman, Boncaro and Hofmeister got Trine even at 20-20, but five of the next seven points went to their opponents.
The Thunder got ahead early in the third set en route to a 25-23 set victory. Five kills for Boncaro in the third fueled the offense for the team. The set was even at 16-16 before a string of three straight points allowed Trine to seize momentum. They got up by as many as four at 22-18 before a kill by Hofmeister out of a timeout allowed the Thunder to stay alive in the match.
Trine had their best hitting percentage in the fourth set at .225 (15 kills, six errors) and overcame a deficit of as many as three at 19-16 Nazareth. Back-to-back kills by Boncaro capped a run of four straight points to give the Thunder the lead and the offense continued through Stillman, Ho'okano-Pelekai and Hofmeister. After forcing an extra point, Trine was able to force a winner-take-all set five at 26-24.
In the fifth, the ninth-ranked team in NCAA DIII flexed their muscles by pulling away to an 8-2 start, but the Thunder fought to the bitter end. Nate Unsicker served a rally that went for six in a row in favor of Trine to tie it up at eight. The Golden Flyers had just enough in crunch time to take the set and match, 15-12.
Boncaro and Hofmeister each had double-doubles in the match. Boncaro with 25 kills and 17 digs and Hofmeister contributed 16 kills and 17 digs.
TRINE vs SUNY POTSDAM RECAP:
SUNY Potsdam competed in just one match on the day and advanced their record to 5-8 overall with a 3-1 win. Trine's only win came in the first set where the team had 21 kills and a .417 hitting percentage. The Thunder were down 20-18 before the team rattled off seven of the final 10 points of the set. Boncaro led the way with seven first set kills.
From there, the Bears would control the pace of the rest of the match. Potsdam dominated late in the second set to clinch a 25-20 win. The Bears scored six of the final seven points and had a .324 hitting percentage in the second.
The third and fourth sets had the identical score of 25-22 in favor of Potsdam. McLenon was key offensively in the middle stages of the third set and a block by Stillman got Trine to within one at 18-17, but following a timeout by the Bears, the Thunder would come up on the losing end of the set.
Trine scored the first three points of the fourth and were up 11-6 at one point, but Potsdam climbed back into the set late. Up 18-15, the Thunder allowed five of the next six to go to the Bears and four of the final six points as well in the loss.
McLenon had a great all-around performance in the match with eight kills, three aces, five digs and was a part of four blocks (one solo) for 13.5 points.
Trine is on the road next Saturday, February 18 for a tri-match at Olivet College. The Thunder face the Comets and St. Norbert in a neutral site contest.