ALMA, MICH.-- Trine clinched a berth in the MIAA Tournament with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18) victory over Alma Wednesday night at Art Smith Arena.
The Thunder locked up a no. 3 seed in the tournament with the victory, and will travel to face either Calvin or Hope in the MIAA Semifinals on Friday, Nov. 7. The sister duo of Lauren and Megan Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) paced Trine to the victory over Alma. Lauren Verkamp notched her seventh double-double of the season, with 15 kills with 12 digs. Megan Verkamp tied a career-high with 13 kills and added six digs. Hannah Guilford's seven kills paced the Alma attack. The Thunder improved to 21-4 overall, 10-4 in the MIAA. The 10 conference wins ties the 2007 team for the most MIAA wins in a season by a Trine team since they joined the league in 2004. Alma falls to 15-15 overall, 8-6 in conference matches.
Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) notched her ninth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 10 digs for the Thunder. Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) notched 34 assists, 14 digs and six kills. Searles moved into seventh on Trine's all-time list in digs, and now has 1,181 in her career. Mikayla Carpenter (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) notched a match-high 25 digs.
The Scots had six players finish with between five and seven kills. Kayla Muxlow notched six kills, while Dakota Pelach, Madison Smith, Sasha Laykova, and Laura Walker each added five kills. Guilford, Molly Lark, and Maressa Miller each notched 14 digs for Alma. Mary Dulzo added 25 assists and eight digs.
The two teams played an evenly-matched first set, with the Scots making enough plays at the end to earn the victory. Muxlow put away a kills to break a 23-all tie, and a Trine attack error provided the winning point for the Scots.
Trine used a four-point run to take the lead for good at 19-17 in the second set. The Thunder closed the set on a 10-4 run and recorded their best hitting percentage in a set, hitting at a .250 clip.
The Scots led by as much as four in the third set, but Trine claimed the final three points of the set to overcome a late deficit and take a 2-1 lead. An ace by Rabel closed things out.
After Alma opened with the first point in the final set, the Thunder stormed back with five straight and never trailed the rest of the way. Megan Verkamp notched an ace and kill in the five-point run, while Lauren Verkamp picked up two kills during that stretch. Trine held the Scots to a -.024 hitting percentage in the final set.
Trine returns to action next Tuesday, Oct. 28 when they host Olivet at 6:30 p.m. in Hershey Hall. The match will be the last chance Thunder fans will have to see the team in action at home this season.