ANGOLA, Ind. – For the ninth consecutive match, the Trine University men's volleyball team was victorious in a 3-0 win against Wabash College. The triumph marks the third in a row in Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) play and the eighth match out of nine that Trine has won in straight sets.
The win pushes the Thunder record to 12-9 in the 2023 season and 3-0 in conference action. The Wabash Little Giants fall to 8-16 and are winless in MCVL play at 0-5.
After being honored prior to Friday night's match as the team's lone graduating student-athlete this spring, Sam Bhandal recorded 41 assists, the third-highest mark in a three-set match in program history. Libero Hunter Haas had 16 digs, which ties the program record for most in a three-set match.
Set one was very efficient for both team's offenses. Trine was able to pull away for a 25-19 win, but Wabash was error-free with 15 kills and a .455 hitting percentage. Not to be outdone, the Thunder had 22 kills with one error and a .656 hitting percentage. Between the teams, they had 65 total attempts in the first with 37 kills and one error.
After a back-and-forth exchange early, a hustle play by Matt Stillman kept the ball alive for Ted Hofmeister to slam it down to put Trine up 15-11 and force a timeout by the Little Giants. Johnson-Kuhao Ho'okano-Pelekai carried the squad late in the first and ended the set with eight kills.
Wabash was able to claim a 4-0 lead when set two began, but the Thunder slowly chipped away at the deficit. Bhandal found Hofmeister for a kill to tie the set up at 8-8, and a solo block by Sam Buckingham gave the team their first lead in the second, 11-10. Five in a row for the Little Giants later on forced Trine to utilize a timeout, and the break was effective in turning the tide of the set. Eight of the next eleven points belonged to the Thunder to help secure a 25-23 set two win.
The most lopsided set of the night came in the match finale as the Thunder enforced their will in a 25-17 victory. Trine went up 9-4 to draw a timeout from their opponents, a sequence highlighted by a service ace off the hand of Carter Steffgen. It would be one of three aces Steffgen had on the night. The onslaught continued as the Thunder doubled Wabash's score at 18-9 thanks to kills by Kevin Boncaro and the team eventually nabbed the victory 25-17.
A team hitting percentage of .299 was led by Ho'okano-Pelekai with 13 kills on 24 attempts. Boncaro had a team-high 14 kills and Hofmeister was in double figures as well with 10. Haas (16) and Boncaro (10) combined for 26-of-46 digs.
Trine's final regular season home match takes place on Saturday, March 25 when the Thunder play host to Fontbonne University. First serve is slated for 1 p.m.