ANGOLA, Ind. – The eleven-game win streak for the Trine University men's volleyball team came to an end on Saturday when the team was defeated by Baldwin Wallace University 3-0. The Thunder are now 14-5 on the year and fall to 4-1 in Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) action. The Yellow Jackets move into second place in the league standings at 11-12 and 5-1.
All three sets were tight, with the largest deficit coming in the first at 25-21 Baldwin Wallace. The Yellow Jackets took a 9-4 lead in the early going and did not look back from there. It was the best hitting percentage for both sides in the match, but 14 kills and three errors by Baldwin Wallace helped propel them to the win.
The first four points in set two belonged to the home team, highlighted by a solo block from Matt Stillman. After the Yellow Jackets got back into the match, the score was tied ten times in total in the second. A kill by Johnson-Kuhao Ho'okano-Pelekai kept the set alive at 25-25, but the final two points in the second belonged to Baldwin Wallace in the 27-25 loss.
That score would reign true yet again in set three as the Yellow Jackets secured the sweep. After neither side had more than a two-point lead at 13-13, the visitors began to pull away and claimed a 19-14 advantage. Back-to-back kills by Stillman helped the team get back to even and a combined block by Kevin Boncaro and Liam Northrup put the squad one point from a set win, however the last three points of the match belonged to Baldwin Wallace.
The Thunder could not take advantage of 21 service errors by their opponents in the match. Boncaro and Ted Hofmeister had ten kills each to pace the team, while Hunter Haas led with 15 digs and Nick Woolley at 27 assists.
The University of Olivet is the next MCVL opponent for Trine as they look to rebound inside Hershey Hall on Friday, March 29 at 7 p.m.