ANGOLA, Ind. - It was a special night at Hershey Hall, as senior Carlee Felber (Newman, Calif./Orestimba) played her final match at home. Fortunately, the Thunder made her last match a great one. Trine made quick work of the Scots from Alma College, winning the first three sets. (25-22, 25-17, 25-22) This win enters the Thunder into the MIAA tournament and gives them a three seed. Trine improved to 16-14 overall and 8-8 in MIAA play. Alma fell to 13-14 overall and 8-8 in conference play.
The first set was a very high intensity match, as both teams wanted to set the tone. Trine jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead, on errors from Alma. The Scots would fight back and make the score 7-7. From there, the Thunder managed to gain a lead of 16-10 mid-way through the match. Alma didn't give up though, keeping the match within at least 5 points. Fortunately for the Thunder, Alma never could quite gain the lead and they took the first set 25-22. There were 5 tie scores in the set and 1 lead change.
The second set was very close early. Both teams fought back and forth, making the score 9-9 at one point in the set. The Thunder then produced a 7-0 run, to gain a comfortable lead at 16-9. After that, Trine never looked back, as great teamwork gave them the second set 25-17. The second set saw 8 ties scores and 3 lead changes.
The third and final set started to make Hershey Hall shake. As the Trine student section cheered on the Thunder, they were just as intense. Early in the set, it looked bad for Trine as they faced a 7-1 deficit at one point. However, like they had been all night, Trine used great teamwork and high volleyball IQ to fight their way back into the match. They managed to tie the set at 10-10. The teams would fight back and forth for a few points. Alma did manage to gain another lead mid-way through the match, 16-12. With Hershey Hall rocking, the Thunder went back to hard work and scored 4 straight points and tied the set back up at 16-16. The turning point of the match was when Trine went on a 4-1 run late in the match to make the score 20-17. With Thunder Nation on their backs, Trine brought home the third set 25-22. There were 7 score ties and 4 lead changes in this set.
Sophomore Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) led the Thunder on the night with 11 kills. Her sophomore teammate, Olivia Deck (Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge) contributed 6 kills on the night. Freshman Laura Hartman (Laingsburg, Mich./Lainsburg) produced 4 kill son the night.
Sophomore Megan Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) produced a game high 10 digs on the night, and also added 5 kills. Her twin sister, Lauren Verkamp, also had a big night with 9 digs and 8 kills. Senior Carlee Felber made her presence felt on her last game at Hershey Hall, where she produced 9 digs. Junior teammate Erin Lewis (Farmland, Ind./Winchester Community) added 8 digs respectively.
Junior Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./ Petoskey) had a very successful night setting, where she managed to produce 30 assists. She also added 7 digs and 3 kills.
The Thunder will match up against Hope in the opening round of the MIAA tournament.