CHICAGO, ILL.-- The Trine volleyball team extended their winning-streak to five with sweeps of Illinois Tech and Earlham in non-conference action Saturday at the Keating Center.
The Thunder opened the morning with a trio of 25-14 victories over Illinois Tech, and followed that up with a second 3-0 victory (25-16, 25-10, 25-20) victory over Earlham. Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) notched 10 kills in each match to pace the Trine attack. Lauren Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) moved into sixth on Trine's all-time list in service aces, notching five aces on the day to give the junior 116 in her career. Trine improves to 12-2 on the season, with both losses coming to teams ranked no. 1 in the nation at the time of their match with the Thunder.
Trine 3, Illinois Tech 0
The Thunder opened the day with three commanding victories over the host Scarlet Hawks in an early-morning match.
Trine held ITU to a -.056 hitting percentage. Pacing the defensive effort for the Thunder was Lauren Verkamp, who notched a team-high 16 digs. She added seven kills. Mikayla Carpenter (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) added 12 digs.
The Thunder were on their game from the service line, as they notched 12 aces as a team. Verkamp, Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) and Bridget Marlow (Trafalgar, Ind./Indian Creek) led the way with three aces-apiece.
Rabel led the attack with 10 kills. Megan Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) and Olivia Deck (Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge) each added four kills.
Irene Grauzinis led the Scarlet Hawks with seven kills. Only one IIT player finished with a hitting percentage over .000. Trine had 30 kills to the Hawks' 15.
Illinois Tech fell to 7-9 on the season with the loss.
Trine 3, Earlham 0
The Thunder outhit Earlham by a .253 to .047 margin in another commanding victory.
Rabel led the way offensively with 10 kills again. Deck and Laura Hartman (Laingsburg, Mich./Laingsburg) each added five kills, while Annie Phillips (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) notched a career-high four kills and eight digs.
Carpenter paced the defensive effort with 19 digs. Searles set the Thunder attack with 24 assists, and added six digs. Trine notched 12 more aces in the match, led by Searles' five aces.
Kayla Morris led the Quakers with nine kills to go along with 13 digs. Emily Lim hit .462 and notched six kills to go along with 11 digs.
Earlham fell to 3-14 on the season.
Trine returns to action this Tuesday, Sept. 30 when they host Albion at 6:30 p.m. in Hershey Hall.