ANGOLA, IND.-- Trine swept Olivet, 25-13, 25-23, 25-21, Tuesday evening to set a new school-best mark for wins in MIAA play during a season.
The Thunder picked up their 11th conference win to top the previous-best mark of 10, set in 2007. Trine is now 11-4 in conference play, and 22-4 overall on the season. Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) put away 14 kills and hit .333 to lead the Thunder attack. Megan Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) notched eight kills and hit a crisp .727. Trine hit .292 in the match, while holding the Comets to an .070 clip. Olivet falls to 5-23 overall and 1-14 in MIAA play.
Lauren Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) notched seven kills and added eight digs. Laura Hartman (Laingsburg, Mich./Laingsburg) added six kills and hit .500. Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) set the efficient Trine attack with 34 assists.
Marissa Guile led the Comet attack with six kills. Emma Brann, Allison Turner and Ashlee Roussey each notched five kills. Stephanie Lang entered the match second in the MIAA in kills per set at 3.80, but was held to 3 kills and a -.125 hitting percentage by the Thunder.
Trine came right out firing on all cylinders, hitting .320 in the opening set. The Thunder held Olivet to a -.200 clip in the opening frame.
The Comets kept the second set close until late. A kill by Danielle Bearden gave the Comets a 19-18 lead, but the Thunder responded with five-straight to take the lead for good. Kills by Rabel and Hartman, and three attack errors accounted for the Trine points during the run. Olivet fought back to tie the score at 23-23, but Rabel put away the final two points to put Trine up 2-0.
The Thunder never trailed in the final set, as they closed out the victory. A six-point run helped break open a 19-12 lead, and the Comets never got closer than three the rest of the way.
Trine closes out MIAA-play this Friday, Oct. 31 when they travel to Albion to face the Britons at 6:30 p.m.