ALMA, Mich.—The Trine volleyball team won a 3-2 nail biter match over Alma on Wednesday night.
The Thunder (2-7, 2-2 MIAA) won the first two sets, 25-22 and 25-17, but the Scots came back to win the next two 25-21 and 25-17. Trine secured the victory with a 15-12 win in the fifth set.
In the first set, Trine and Alma battled back and forth and were tied 15-15 midway through. The Thunder switched gears and outscored the Scots 8-2 to go up 23-17 before going on to with the set. In the second, Trine took an early lead and never looked back on its way to a 25-17 win. The Thunder and the Scots were deadlocked at 17-17 in the third, and traded points back and forth. Alma edged out the Thunder late in the set for a 25-21 win to come within a set. The Scots jumped out to an early lead in the fourth and went on to win a 25-17 set to tie up the match 2-2.
In the deciding fifth set, the two teams traded leads back and forth. With the set tied at 10 all, freshman Danielle Stanichuk (Athens, Mich./Troy) earned an ace for Trine and the Thunder followed with a well-timed block to go up by two points. Alma came within a point again, but with a kill by Janaya Wilder and another block, Trine was looking for match-point. Sophomore Emily Schaub (Ceresco, Mich./Battle Creek St. Phillip) secured the win with an ace on her serve to win the set, 15-12.
Sophomore Shannon Scott (Vicksburg, Mich/Vicksburg) led the Thunder offense with a match-high 16 kills while hitting .353. Morgan Harris (Crown Point, Ind./Merrillville) also totaled double digit kills with 12. Sophomore Janaya Wilder (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont) had a double-double on the night with 11 kills and 11 digs. Wilder also added three blocks. Junior Emma Bowman (Corvallis, Ore./Saint Joseph) led Trine at the net with five total blocks. Sophomore Rhylee Beshears (Gary, Ind./Hobart) led the Thunder back row defense with a match-high 21 digs and also added two aces. Junior Samantha Ihrie (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) had 23 assists and two aces.
Alma (6-3, 2-2 MIAA) was led by Katie Bush who had 12 kills while hitting .391. Maressa Miller had 22 assists. Molly Lark, Dorothy Buening and Dakota Pelach each had double digit digs with 17, 15 and 10, respectively.
The Thunder will travel to Greencastle, Ind. this weekend for the DePauw Invitational. Trine will take on Millikin on Friday at 4 p.m.