ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's volleyball team made it four straight victories on Wednesday (all at home) with a three-set win over Bethel University. The Thunder advance to 7-9 overall while the Pilots fall to 4-10.
Kevin Boncaro and Ted Hofmeister paced the offense with 15 and 13 kills. Liam Northrup was true on six of his seven attacks as well. As a team, Trine hit .298 and it is the fourth straight match with a team hitting percentage above .270. Sam Bhandal was the team leader in assists (35), aces (3) and digs (15).
In the first set, the Thunder and Pilots kept things close early until Trine scored on eight-of-nine points to get ahead 14-7 and force an opposing timeout. Northrup was there for a pair of block assists during the run. An ace from Bhandal coming out of the break kept momentum with the Thunder. A kill by Boncaro made Bethel use their second timeout at 23-19, but it was too little, too late as Trine secured the 25-20 victory in the first.
The second was back-and-forth between the teams. The Thunder threw the first punch by going ahead 7-2, but Bethel answered with five consecutive points. A timeout by head coach William Dowdy was effective in turning the tide in the set as a kill from Hofmeister capped a 6-0 run. Trine kept their foot on the accelerator throughout the second to pull away, 25-17. The Thunder hit a match-high .325 in the set with 16 kills and three errors.
The widest margin of victory in a set came in the third where Trine finished the match at 25-16. Three straight kills by Northrup, Boncaro and Hofmeister worked to bury the Pilots at 18-12. Matt Stillman added a solo block later in the set to fuel the flame on the offensive attack for the home team and Northrup concluded the contest with a solo kill as well.
On Saturday, March 4, Trine men's volleyball competes at North Park University for a tri-match versus the host Vikings and Maranatha Baptist University. The first match of that event will begin at 12 p.m. CST.