Kalamazoo, Mich.- With their backs against the wall, the Trine Thunder earned a key road win Wednesday to keep their postseason hopes alive with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 29-27) sweep at Kalamazoo. The victory kept the Thunder in the hunt to qualify for their third consecutive conference tournament.
Trine (6-8, 12-14) faced some adversity Wednesday night as they made the snowy trip to Kalamazoo (7-7, 13-13) to face a team they defeated 3-1 at Trine in the first meeting back in September. Trine had just one previous road win the entire year, and they played without sophomore Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) who was fourth in the MIAA in kills.
But the Thunder responded well. In the first set, they jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead. The Hornets countered with five straight points to lead 5-3. Trine then began to control the serve. Junior Erin Lewis (Farmland, Ind./Winchester Community) had two consecutive service aces to give the Thunder a 9-6 advantage. The teams battled back-and-forth, eventually drawing even at 16-16. The Thunder cranked up a 6-1 run, punctuated on a kill by sophomore Megan Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) and two aces by junior Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) to pull ahead 22-17. Sophomore Lauren Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) put the set away with a powerful kill to give the Thunder a 25-23 win.
In the second set, Trine took control from the start. They lead 8-3 after they stuffed the Hornets twice at the net and began to control the front. Megan Verkamp notched a kill to give the Thunder their biggest lead of the set at 15-8. But Kalamazoo would bounce back, cutting the lead to as few as three at 23-20 before Trine rattled off the final two points to win 25-20.
The third set proved to be Kalamazoo's best of the match. After a quick 2-2 tie, the Hornets equaled their largest lead of the night at 9-6. Trine would bounce back. Sophomore Olivia Deck (Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge) had two quick kills in the middle of the set as Trine rallied to tie things at 13-13. It remained tied at 17-17, but the Thunder had a late surge to take a 24-22 lead on a Megan Verkamp kill to force match point. Kalamazoo fought off elimination three consecutive times to eventually take a 27-26 lead. A costly service error by the Hornets tied it at 27-27. Trine earned a side-out to lead 28-27 and took advantage of their fourth match point of the set on a strong shot from the right arm of sophomore Stephanie Radandt (Walkerton, Ind./John Glenn) to capture a 29-27 win.
In the absence of Rabel, it was a very balanced attack for the Thunder. Megan and Lauren Verkamp each led the way with nine kills. Deck finished with eight and Searles registered seven. Freshman Laura Hartman (Laingsburg, Mich./Laingsburg) had a key contribution in the middle with five.
All-MIAA setter Searles dished out 37 assists and senior libero Carlee Felber (Newman, Calif./Orestimba) led the defensive attack with 16 digs.
Trine returns to the court as they step outside the conference with a tri-match in Ohio at Bluffton University on Oct. 26 beginning at 3 p.m