OLIVET, Mich.-- The Trine volleyball team earned a four-set victory, 26-24, 15-25, 25-18, 25-11 over Olivet in MIAA-action Tuesday night at Cutler Event Center.
Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) notched a double-double, leading the Thunder with 11 kills to go along with 12 digs. The performance brought Rabel's career tally to 998 kills. The senior could become the fifth player in team history to reach the 1,000-kill milestone. Allison Turner paced the Comets with kills. The Thunder notched a season-high 13 blocks in the match. Trine improved to 5-7 overall and 3-2 in the MIAA. Olivet is now 9-3 overall, 1-3 in conference matches.
Leading Trine's blocking effort was Emma Bowman (Corvallis, Ore./Saint Joseph), who came away with one block solo and assisted on four other blocks. Five Thunder players picked up at least three block assists in the match. Mikayla Carpenter (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) anchored the defensive effort from the back row with 24 digs. Trine held the Comets to an .059 hitting percentage.
Megan Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) added 10 kills on the offensive end. Shannon Scott (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) contributed seven kills.
Trine held leading Olivet hitter Re'Gene Thompson to four kills on the evening. Thompson came in ranked third in the conference in kills per set. Marissa Guile notched 10 kills for the Comets, but was held to just an .075 hitting percentage after entering the match averaging a .332 clip.
A hot start for Scott helped the Thunder prevail in the long first set. The freshman put away six kills in the opening set. A kill by Megan Verkamp broke open the 24-24 tie late and a combined block from Rabel and Olivia Deck (Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge) sealed a 1-0 lead.
The Comets answered, using a 9-2 start to the second set to put it away early. The .312 hitting percentage Olivet managed in the second set was the team's best of the night.
Trine never trailed after a four-point run to make the score 12-8 in the third set. Bowman and Scott combined on two blocks in that run. Rabel heated up in the third set with five kills.
Rabel again paced the attack in the final set as she put away four kills to help the Thunder close it out. Trine scored 16 of the final 19 points of the match to earn the win.
The Thunder travel to Albion for a conference match this Friday, Sept. 25 at 6:30 p.m.