ANGOLA, Ind. - For the second time this season the Trine University volleyball team rallied from down 0-2 to win, defeating Albion College 3-2 (19-25, 23-25, 15-16, 25-19, 16-14). The Thunder push their record to over .500 for the first time since they won their first game of the year and now have a 9-8 overall record and are 4-3 in the MIAA.
The Thunder dropped the first two sets, both of which they led, including being up 5-1 in the opener. Trine came back with vengeance in the third set as they led from the start and never looked back leading by as many as eight.
The fourth set was all Thunder as they again led from the start not even allowing the Britons to tie the game. Trine led by as many as 10 points before Albion closed the gap late in the set but the Thunder were able to put it away.
In the fifth and decisive set, the two teams battled it out through 10 ties and four lead changes. Trine jumped out to a 4-1 lead before Albion tied it at 4-4. The two sides exchanged points from there as neither team was able to get more than a two point lead. After Albion stopped the Thunder on a match point at 14-13, Trine scored the final two points on back-to-back kills by sophomore Lauren Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) to take the win.
Sophomore Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) led all players with a game-high 21 kills. It was the third time this season that Rabel has finished with 20+ kills and the 13th time with 10 or more. Lauren Verkamp finished the night with her fourth double-double of the year with 14 digs and 13 kills. Fellow sophomore Stephanie Radandt (Walkerton, Ind./John Glenn) had a career-best 11 kills and added three blocks. Megan Verkamp also added a double-double of her own, her second of the year, with 10 kills and 10 digs.
Junior Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) went off for a career-high 50 assists while earning her 11th double-double of the year with 15 digs. Searles also added five kills, three blocks and a team-high two aces. Senior Carlee Felber (Newman, Calif./Orestimba) finished the night with a team-high 18 digs while junior Erin Lewis (Farmland, Ind./Winchester Community) made 11 digs.
As a team, Trine finished with a season-high 65 kills and 61 assists. It was the first time this season that four Trine players have registered double-digit kills in the same match.
Trine will take almost a week off before returning to the court on Oct. 1 when they travel to Alma for a 6:30 p.m. match.