ANGOLA, IND.-- Trine kept the score close against #1 Calvin, but fell to the Knights in three sets Friday evening in Hershey Hall.
The Knights prevailed by finals of 25-21, 25-20 and 25-17. The defending-National Champions hit .304 on the evening, while holding the Thunder to an .097 clip. Leading Calvin was Maggie Kamp, who notched a match-high 16 kills on a .351 hitting percentage. Kamp entered the match as the MIAA's leader in kills. Trine was led by Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) with nine kills. The Thunder fall to 4-1 overall and open MIAA play 0-1. Calvin improves to 6-0, 2-0 in conference matches.
Laura Danhoff added nine kills and hit .444 for the Knights. Jenna Lodewyk set the attack with 33 assists, and added a defensive impact with nine digs. Elise Biesboer added 14 digs. Calvin had 50 digs to 39 for Trine.
Lauren Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) notched six kills for Trine. Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) added 17 assists, eight digs and five kills. The Thunder notched six service aces on the evening.
Trine kept things close well into the middle of each set, but was unable to get over the hump any of those occasions. After a Megan Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) service ace pulled the Thunder within 14-12 in the first set, the Knights responded with a six-point rally. Trine would get no closer than four the rest of the set.
The Thunder closed within 19-17 in the second set after a 3-point run capped by a Searles kill. The two teams traded points until the score was 22-20, before the Knights put away the set with three-straight kills.
Trine took an early lead in the deciding set, but the Knights rallied back to take the lead for good at 8-7 on a service ace by Biesboer. Trine would keep it close to the 12-10 point, but an 8-3 surge by the Knights put the set out of reach.
Trine returns to action tomorrow morning at Kalamazoo. First serve is set for 11 a.m.