WASHINGTON - Over the weekend, the Trine University volleyball team traveled nearly 550 miles to compete in the sixth annual Worthington Classic hosted by Gallaudet University where they placed fourth with a 2-2 record. The Thunder are now 14-7 on the season.
The opening match saw the Thunder battle the host Gallaudet in three tough sets, falling 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-14). Trine bounced right back in their following game, dominating Wheaton (MA) 3-0 (25-20, 25-9, 25-15). The Thunder held Wheaton to a season-low 15 kills, including just two in the second set while making a season-high 13 service aces in the match.
The second day saw the Thunder take their morning match in another 3-0 sweep over Marymount (VA) (25-16, 25-14, 25-17). The Thunder had an incredible 19 kills in the first set en-route to a 3-set season-high 43 for the match. Sophomore Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) earned her first of two straight double-doubles. In the third-place match, the Thunder faced Washington & Lee, taking the first set before falling 3-1 (23-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-18).
Senior Betsy Irwin (Athens, Ohio /Alexander) was named to the All-Tournament team after leading the Thunder with 46 kills and a .391 hitting percentage while knocking down eight blocks for the weekend. Freshman Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) had 27 kills and 23 digs over the four games. Fellow freshman Lauren Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) had a solid weekend leading the Thunder with 11 aces while adding in 25 digs and 24 kills.
Searles just missed averaging a double-double for the weekend, leading Trine with 52 assists to go along with 33 digs, 20 kills and seven blocks. Senior Sarah Radekin (Athens, Ohio /Alexander) also averaged double-digit assists for the tournament, finishing with 44 assists and 27 digs. Junior Darcy Crabtree (Muncie, Ind./Wes-Del) led the Thunder with 49 digs in the tournament.
Trine will take a few days off for fall break before resuming conference play on October 5 when they travel to Saint Mary’s for a 7:00 p.m. match.