ALLIANCE, Ohio-- The Trine volleyball team dropped a pair of three-set matches to Bethany (W.V.) and Grove City Saturday at the Mount Union Invitational.
Bethany got the best of the Thunder in the first match by scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-22, while Grove City earned wins by 25-17, 25-20 and 25-19 finals. Trine's Mikayla Carpenter (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 3.07 digs per set on the weekend. Trine leaves the tournament with an overall record of 1-3.
Bethany 3, Trine 0
Trine was held to an .094 hitting percentage in the match. Alexis Castro paced the Bison with 11 kills. Reilly Parker notched a match-high 22 digs to anchor the defensive effort. Bethany improved to 2-1 and is coming off a 27-14 season.
The Thunder were led by Lauren Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) and Megan Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) with seven kills apiece. Carpenter picked up a team-high 15 digs.
The Bison held Trine to hitting percentages of .061 and .081 while hitting .162 and .242 over the first two sets. Bethany closed the opening set with a 7-2 run and finished strong in the second set with a 6-1 spurt to close.
Trine led by as much as seven in the third set, but a 14-4 Bethany surge closed out the match.
Grove City 3, Trine 0
The Wolverines used an efficient .270 hitting effort to put away the Thunder in three sets.
Grove City hit no worse than .174 in any set in the match. Laura Buchanan and Libbie Casey both spearheaded the offensive effort. Buchanan contributed 10 kills on a .529 hitting percentage, while Casey hit at an .818 clip on her way to nine kills.
Emma Bowman (Corvallis, Ore./St. Joseph) led Trine with a career-high nine kills, adding three assists, a pair of digs and a solo block. She hit .643. Lauren Verkamp added eight kills at an efficient .400 clip. Newcomer Amanda Abney (Montgomery, Mich./Camden-Frontier) also provided an offensive spark for the Thunder with a season-high six kills.
Grove City notched six service aces to Trine's one. The Wolverines also out-blocked the Thunder by a 7-2 margin. Grove City held leads of at least six in each of the first two sets and used a late five-point run to close out the final set.
Trine opens MIAA play this Wednesday, Sept. 9 at Adrian. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m.