ADRIAN, Mich.-- The Trine volleyball team opened the conference season with a sweep of MIAA-foe Adrian, 25-23, 25-17, 25-20 Wednesday night at Merillat Gymnasium.
Megan Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) notched nine kills while hitting an efficient .438 and made her presence felt from the service line with three aces. Verkamp added five digs. Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) added a strong two-way game with 11 kills and 10 digs for her first double-double of the season. The senior is closing in on 1,000 career digs and now has 967 in her career. The Thunder were able to solve the Bulldogs' block as the team improved its hitting percentage in each set, finishing at .229 on the night. Trine improved to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in the MIAA. Adrian is 4-2 overall and opens up the conference slate 0-1.
Freshman Shannon Scott (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) provided an offensive spark with a career-high seven kills and added three block assists. Mikayla Carpenter (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) anchored the defensive effort from the back row with a match-high 15 digs, while Emma Bowman (Corvallis, Ore./St. Joseph) added three solo blocks and assisted on three more.
Adrian was led by Olivia Welch's nine kills, though she was held to an .023 hitting percentage. Sydney Martines, who came in hitting .448, was held to five kills at an .083 clip. Jordan Brisson notched a team-high 11 digs.
Trine raced out to a 12-4 lead in the first set, but strong play on the block helped the Bulldogs pull back within one on several occasions late. Rabel put away the final point of the set to get the Thunder off and rolling.
Adrian put Trine in a five-point hole early in set two, but the Thunder fought back to take the lead at 16-14 after a four-point run with Carpenter holding serve. Trine won 14 of the final 19 points to take set two comfortably.
An 8-2 spurt in the middle of the third set gave the Thunder the seperation they needed to earn the victory. Scott and fellow freshmen Morgan Harris (Crown Point, Ind./Merrillville) and Janaya Wilder (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont) combined for 10 kills in the deciding set. Trine hit .270 to close out the victory.
With six kills on the night, Lauren Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) became the eighth player at Trine to surpass 700-career kills in the Division-III era (2004-present). She now has 704 kills in her collegiate career.
The Thunder will host Saint Mary's this Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. in Trine's home-opener.