KALAMAZOO, Mich.-- The Trine volleyball team rallied back after dropping the first set to defeat Kalamazoo, 19-25, 25-14, 25-16, 25-21 in MIAA-action Saturday at Anderson Athletic Center.
Freshman Shannon Scott (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) put away a career-high 10 kills and hit .409 to lead the Thunder attack. It was the second-consecutive match Scott had set a new career-high in kills. Fellow freshman Janaya Wilder (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont) played a solid all-around match, setting new career-highs with 17 digs and five service aces and tying a career-high with eight kills. As a team, the Thunder notched 12 aces. Paige Johnson led the Hornets with eight kills, 24 assists and eight digs. Trine improved to 3-4 overall, 2-1 in conference matches. Kalamazoo is now 1-6 overall and 0-3 in the MIAA.
Lauren Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) added eight kills and tied a season-high with 11 digs for the Thunder. Mikayla Carpenter (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) notched a team-high 18 digs. Trine hit .203 for the match while holding the Hornets to a .129 clip.
Dana DeVito led all players in the match with 21 digs for Kalamazoo. Noa Yaakoby and Shelby Suseland each added six kills.
Kalamazoo hit .351 on its way to winning the first set. The Hornets never trailed after taking an early 2-1 lead and led by as much as nine.
A strong 5-1 start, punctuated by two aces by Wilder got the Thunder off and running in the second set. Trine closed out the set with a six-point run as Bridget Marlow (Trafalgar, Ind./Indian Creek) held serve. All four Thunder kills during that run came from freshmen.
Trine went on a dominating, 17-3 surge to turn a one-point Kalamazoo lead into a 22-9 advantage in set three. The Thunder notched four aces during that stretch on their way to going up 2-1 in the match.
The Hornets kept the outcome of the fourth set in doubt until Trine closed on a 6-1 run. A four-point run turned a one-point Thunder deficit into a 23-20 lead. The two teams then traded points, before a ball-handling error on the Hornets sent TU home with the victory.
Trine hits the road for a conference match against no. 9 Hope Wednesday, Sept. 16. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m.