COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Trine University volleyball team split their weekend going 2-2 at the two-day Capital-Otterbein opening tournament. Sophomore outside hitter Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) was named to the All-Tournament team for the Thunder.
Trine opened the weekend on Friday with a 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-9, 25-21) victory over Kenyon. Rabel and fellow sophomore Lauren Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) led the Thunder to victory with 17 and 16 kills respectively, both of which were career-highs. The pair also added double-doubles as Verkamp had 14 digs while Rabel added 13 in the match.
In the nightcap, the Thunder dropped their match 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-19) to host Otterbein. Trine's best opportunity came in the second set, but a late 8-1 run by the Cardinals put things out of reach.
The Thunder started day two by falling behind early to host Capital 2-0 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Trine mounted a comeback to force a winner-take-all fifth set before falling 3-2 (26-24,25-19,22-25,21-25,15-11).
Trine used the momentum from the Capital match to defeat Denison in their final game of the tournament 3-1 (20-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-15). Rabel and Lauren Verkamp again led the Thunder to victory with double-digit kills. Sophomore Stephanie Radandt (Walkerton, Ind./John Glenn) had a career-high seven blocks in the match.
For the Thunder, Rabel led the way with 57 kills on the weekend to go along with 30 digs. Lauren Verkamp added 38 kills while twin sister Megan added 31 of her own. Both had outstanding weekends at the service line as Lauren had nine aces and Megan dropped seven. Lauren was also third on the team with 45 digs while Megan added 30 to go along with eight blocks.
Sophomore Olivia Deck (Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge) and Radandt collected 25 and 23 kills each. Radandt led the Thunder with 11 blocks while Deck was second on the team with nine. Radandt also added six service aces.
All-MIAA junior Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) led Trine all weekend as she totaled 153 assists made 47 digs, dropping in 20 kills while adding seven aces and seven blocks. Searles also earned double-doubles in three of the four games, just missing out on a fourth by one dig against Otterbein. Senior libero Carly Felber (Newman, Calif./Orestimba) led the Thunder with 69 digs over the four matches including a career-high 33 in the match against Capital.
Trine now returns to Angola to host a tri-match with conference foe Olivet and Rose-Hulman on September 3. Trine will face Olivet at 4:00 p.m. and then Rose-Hulman at 8:00 p.m.