ANGOLA, Ind.-- Trine had to hold off an Albion comeback push, but the Thunder earned the five-set 25-20, 27-25, 15-25, 18-25, 15-12 victory Saturday on Senior Day in Hershey Hall.
Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) notched 15 kills and 13 digs to pick up the double-double in the final home match of her Trine career. Rabel has notched three double-doubles this season. Mikayla Carpenter (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) picked up a match-high 34 digs to surpass the 1,000-dig plateau in her career. The sophomore has totaled 1,001 digs thus far, eighth in team history. Her 4.88 digs per set average ranks third all-time at the school.
The victory leaves Trine in third place in the MIAA with an 8-6 mark in league action. The Thunder are 12-13 overall. Albion fell to 14-12 overall, 4-9 in conference matches.
Megan Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) filled the stat sheet with 13 kills, eight digs and 24 assists in her final career home match. Lauren Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) notched seven kills and 15 digs, pulling within four digs of 1,000 in her career. Samantha Ihrie (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) notched a career-high 15 digs and passed out 23 assists.
Stephanie Thurner led the Britons with 14 kills, while Taylor Rosenthal added 13 kills. Monica Shuk notched a team-high 30 digs.
Trine closed the first set on a 7-3 run to get the match off on the right foot. Rabel started hot with six kills as the Thunder hit .371 in the opening set. Megan Verkamp added four kills.
The second set featured more strong work on the attack from Trine seniors. Rabel notched five more kills, while Lauren and Megan Verkamp added four-apiece in the set. A kill by Lauren Verkamp closed out the marathon set after a combined block from Emma Bowman (Corvallis, Ore./St. Joseph) and Shannon Scott (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) broke a 25-all tie.
Albion tightened up defensively in the next two sets, allowing Trine to hit no better than .140 either of the Britons' two set victories. Thurner scored six kills in the third set, while Rosenthal picked up six in the fourth set as Albion rallied to tie the score.
Trine raced out to an 8-4 lead in the deciding set as the Thunder held off the Albion comeback attempt. A later four-point run featuring a kill and block by Megan Verkamp and an ace by Janaya Wilder (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont) helped close things out.
The Thunder honored seniors Rabel, Lauren and Megan Verkamp, Olivia Deck (Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge), Bridget Marlow (Trafalgar, Ind./Indian Creek) and Kelbie Titus (Valparaiso, Ind./Washington Township) prior to the match. Seniors combined for 44 kills, 25 assists and 39 digs in the match.
Trine travels to Alma this Tuesday, Oct. 27 for a match at 6:30 p.m.
