Posted: Sep 02, 2016
ADA, Ohio—The Trine volleyball team opened its season at the Ohio Northern Invitational on Friday afternoon dropping two three-set matches to Ohio Northern and Thomas More.
The Thunder began its day by taking on Ohio Northern. In the first set, sophomore Rhylee Beshears (Gary, Ind./Hobart) notched three straight service aces early, but the Polar Bears hit .517 to win by a 25-11 score. ONU went on to win the next two sets at 25-10 and 25-6. Janaya Wilder (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont) led the team with three kills. Wilder joined freshman Kaylyn Forrest (Cassopolis, Mich./Ross Beatty) with a team-high seven digs. Sophomore Shannon Scott (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) and junior Emma Bowman (Corvallis, Ore./Saint Joseph) each had three blocks.
Sydney Bapst led Ohio Northern with 12 kills, while Claire Heitkamp hit .562 with nine kills. Ashley Borchers totaled 25 assists in the victory. McKenna Hostetler added 18 digs, while Bapst had 15.
In Trine's second match of the tournament, Thomas More topped the Thunder in straight sets at 25-16, 25-22 and 25-15. Morgan Harris (Crown Point, Ind./Merrilville) led her team with seven kills while hitting .500. Scott also added five kills of her own. Samantha Ihrie (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) notched 10 assists and contributed two points with aces. Beshears led the Thunder with nine digs.
The Saints were led by Madison Krumpelman and Alexis Bierbaum, who each had nine kills. Alli Borders helped her team with 27 assists. Marisa Meyer contributed 14 digs to Thomas More's defense efforts.
The Thunder has two matches tomorrow to finish off play at the Invitational. Trine takes on Defiance at 11 a.m. and follows with a 1 p.m. contest against Illinois Wesleyan. Live stats are available for both matches.