CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Trine University men's volleyball team finished the 2024 regular season with a win 3-1 at Mount St. Joseph University on Saturday. The victory put the team in a tie for second with the University of Mount Union and Baldwin Wallace University in the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) standings.
The Thunder will enter the MCVL Tournament at 17-6 overall and a 6-2 mark inside the conference. The season concludes for the Lions at 6-15 and 2-6. Trine will be the number three seed in the MCVL Tournament and face Baldwin Wallace in the Semifinal Round. That match will take place on Friday, April 12.
A 7-2 advantage early in the first set up by an ace from Ted Hofmeister gave the team the edge they needed to take set number one 25-13. Kevin Boncaro extended the lead to double figures at 15-5 and in total, Trine had 15 kills on 26 attempts.
The second set would be more of the same for the Thunder as they went up 2-0 with a 25-23 triumph. 14 more kills on a .323 hitting percentage would help push the team through a rough stretch in the middle portion of the frame. The duo of Hofmeister and Boncaro battled late to pick up the win.
Their focus slipped a little in the third set, ultimately falling by the same score of 25-23 to head to a fourth set. Mount St. Joseph would build up a 16-11 lead before a timeout called by Trine turned the tables of the match. An avalanche of points near the end of the match would bring the Thunder to the 25-21 final score.
Hofmeister hit .348 on the afternoon with 22 kills. Boncaro added 17 at a .417 clip as well. Nick Woolley assisted on 44 of the team's 52 kills. In the back row, it was Hunter Haas with a team-high 18 digs. Boncaro (12) and Woolley (11) had double-figure dig numbers also. Karl Both set a new school record by chipping in on nine blocks in the match (three solo).