NORTH MANCHESTER, IND.-- The Trine volleyball team swept Franklin and Manchester Saturday afternoon in Stauffer-Wolfe Arena to open the season 4-0 for the first time since 2005.
The Thunder won in straight sets in each match- 25-19, 25-10, 25-22 over Franklin, and 25-14, 25-18, 25-8 over Manchester. The wins gave Trine the shared championship of the MIAA/HCAC Crossover as one of two teams to go 4-0. Kalamazoo was the only other team to go undefeated on the weekend. Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) led the attack with 29 kills, hitting .370 or better in both matches. Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) was named to the All-Tournament team, contributing 13 kills, 49 assists and 25 digs in today's matches. The senior setter averaged 2.67 kills, 8.60 assists and 4.27 digs per set in the Crossover.
Trine 3, Franklin 0
Efficient offensive efforts from Rabel and Lauren Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) and a strong defensive effort led the Thunder to the opening sweep.
Rabel finished with 14 kills on a .370 hitting percentage, and added nine digs. Verkamp added 12 kills on a .281 percentage and notched seven digs. Searles filled the stat sheet with six kills, 29 assists and 16 digs. Mikayla Carpenter (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) added 12 digs. Trine outhit the Grizzlies by a .211 to .046 margin.
Franklin was led by Brooke Harvey's seven kills. Ashley Bazier notched 17 assists and 12 digs, while MacKenzie Wieneke picked up a team-high 16 digs.
The loss was the first of the season for the Grizzlies.
Trine 3, Manchester 0
The Thunder dominated the Spartans to close out the perfect weekend and clinch a share of the MIAA/HCAC Crossover crown.
A superb defensive effort by Trine held Manchester to a -.046 hitting percentage. The Thunder held the Spartans to a negative percentage in two of the three sets. Pacing the effort was Carpenter's 18 digs, as TU held a 48-35 advantage overall in digs. The Thunder also picked up five blocks overall.
Rabel hit .387 and notched 15 kills to pace the offensive effort. Searles added seven kills, 20 assists and nine digs. Megan Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) picked up five kills for TU.
Leading the way for Manchester was Courtney Chowing with 10 kills and 11 digs, both of which were team-highs. The Spartans concluded the Crossover 0-4.
Trine will host defending-National Champion Calvin next Friday, Sep. 5 in the the MIAA-opener for the Thunder. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m.