BOSTON, MASS.-- The Trine volleyball team opened the Beacon Invitational with a pair of sweeps over UMASS-Boston and Colby-Sawyer Friday afternoon at Clark Athletic Gym.
The Thunder opened with a 25-21, 25-23, 25-19 victory over host UMASS-Boston, and followed that with a 28-26, 25-21, and 25-12. Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) put away 31 kills between the two matches, notching double-doubles in both. Laura Hartman (Laingsburg, Mich./Laingsburg) continued her hot play of late, with 14 kills without an attack error. Hartman has 21 kills without an attack error over the last three matches. Olivia Deck (Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge) notched 12 kills for the Thunder. Trine improves to 16-3 on the season.
Trine 3 UMASS-Boston 0
The Thunder came out immediately to earn the statement victory over a team receiving votes in the AVCA Division III Top 25 poll. The Beacons entered the weekend 13-1 over the last 14 games.
A balanced attack led the way for Trine, as four players finished with six or more kills while hitting .267 or better. Rabel topped all players in the match with 12 kills, and adding 10 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. Hartman continued to have a hot hand as well, turning in her second-consecutive seven-kill performance on a .778 hitting percentage.
Megan Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) put away seven kills while hitting an efficient .500. Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) filled the stat sheet with six kills, 25 assists and six digs.
Julia Murphy and Blair Boyer led UMASS-Boston with eight kills apiece. Bri Sousa addes six kills and hit .545 for the Beacons. Elizabeth Glavan added a match-high 12 digs.
Trine had to fight back from early deficits in the first two sets. The Thunder didn't take their first lead of the opening set until 19-18, but a 10-4 run to close the set gave Trine the opening win. Trine had to fight back from an early 9-3 deficit to win in the second set.
The Thunder had no such problems in the final set, taking their first lead at 10-9 and leading by as much as eight before closing out the victory.
The loss was the first home defeat of the season for the Beacons. They fell to 14-5 on the season.
Trine 3, Colby-Sawyer 0
After a marathon first-set, the Thunder kept things rolling with another sweep.
Rabel notched her eighth double-double of the season, with 19 kills on a .400 hitting percentage to go along with 15 digs. Deck added a season-high 10 kills on a .444 hitting percentage, while Hartman chipped in with another seven kills.
Lauren Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) turned in solid work offensively and defensively, with 10 kills to go along with 13 digs. Mikayla Carpenter (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) notched a team-high 18 digs. Searles was solid all around once again with five kills, 41 assists and 13 digs.
Colby-Sawyer was led by Jackie Keating and Stephanie Vecchio with 10 kills apiece. Lexi Strong notched 13 digs.
Trine outhit C-S by a .273 to .137 margin. The Thunder notched 68 digs to 44 for Colby-Sawyer. The Thunder hit .382 and .355 over the final two sets to clinch the victory. C-S fell to 15-6 on the season with the loss.
The Beacon Invitational wraps up tomorrow. Trine will face Emerson at 10 a.m. and conclude with Roger Williams at 4 p.m.
