SPRINGFIELD, Ohio-- The Trine volleyball team split a pair of matches on the final day of the Wittenberg Fall Classic, held Saturday afternoon.
The Thunder prevailed in five over Otterbein, 25-15, 25-13, 22-25, 14-25, 18-16. Heidelberg then go the best of Trine in the second match of the day, 25-16, 29-27, 25-21. Janaya Wilder (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont) had a big day for the Thunder, notching 21 kills and 29 digs. Megan Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) added 20 kills, while Mikayla Carpenter (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) notched 43 digs to pace the defensive effort. Trine is now 4-7 overall.
Trine 3, Otterbein 2
After taking the first two sets, the Thunder had to fend off the Cardinals by winning the fifth set.
Wilder had a career-best match all around for Trine, as the freshman set new career-highs with 18 kills and 21 digs. Megan Verkamp added 10 kills. Carpenter notched a match-high 23 digs, while Lauren Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) added 13 digs. Samantha Ihrie (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) notched a career-high 28 assists to go along with nine digs.
Morgan Lowenkamp led Otterbein with 15 kills. Gracie Staten notched 23 digs, while Marie Thornton and Maddie Shelley each added eight kills.
The Thunder hit .481 in the first set and used an 11-4 run to open the first set to get the victory. Wilder put away five kills in the opening set.
Trine went on a 13-4 run to turn a 3-3 tie into a 16-7 advantage in the second set. Lauren Verkamp notched two aces during that stretch and Wilder added a pair of kills. The Thunder led by as much as 10.
Otterbein came back to take the next two sets to extend the match. Trine faced match point in the fifth set, but Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) extended it with a big kill to knot the score 14-14. The two teams traded points to 16-16 before Shannon Scott (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) and Rabel put away the final two points.
Rabel notched eight kills and eight digs in the match. Rabel finished the match with 987 kills in her career.
Heidelberg 3, Trine 0
The Student Princes were able to put away the match in three sets, including a marathon second-set.
Megan Verkamp led the Thunder with 10 kills. Carpenter added 20 digs and has now totaled 20 or more digs in four-straight matches. During that time, she has averaged 5.9 digs per set.
Sarah Parker notched 13 kills to lead Heidelberg. Morgan Strenk added 11 kills, while Rachel Raimondo notched 19 digs.
A 7-2 run helped break open the first set for the Student Princes. Neither team led by more than two at any point in the second set, but Heidelberg came away with the final three points to go up 2-0. A 4-1 start put the Student Princes up in the third set and they never trailed the rest of the way.
Trine returns to action this Tuesday, Sept. 22 at Olivet. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m.