ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine University volleyball team won its second consecutive match in straight sets with a 3-0 victory against Saint Mary's College in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association contest at Hershey Hall.
The Thunder defeated the Belles by the scores of 25-15, 25-17 and 25-21.
Trine (7-5, 3-2 MIAA) never trailed in the opening set and quickly jumped out to an 8-2 advantage that included a string of four straight Thunder points. Trine continued to pull away with a series of mini scoring runs and went on to boast a 23-11 advantage en route to the 25-15 final.
The second set saw Saint Mary's (5-7, 2-4 MIAA) take an early 4-2 lead, but Trine later came back to even the match at 4-4 following an opposing attack error. The two teams later battled to a 7-7 tie following a kill by freshman Sarah Toles (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) that was part of a six-point run that led to a 12-7 lead for the Thunder. The home team never trailed the rest of the way and took a commanding two-set advantage in the match with a final score of 25-17.
The third set saw more of a seesaw battle between the two squads. Saint Mary's led, 11-10, when Trine went on a 5-0 run that included kills by juniors Raven Hood (Monroe, Mich./Airport), Shannon Scott (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) and a service ace from freshman Emma Gaff (Hamilton, Ind./Hamilton) giving the Thunder a 15-11 lead. The Belles pulled to within a point, 20-19, late in the set, but that's as close as they'd get as the Thunder ended the set with a 5-2 run to win, 25-21, and seal the overall match by a final of 3-0.
Offensively, Scott and Gaff led the Thunder with eight kills each. Hood was the next highest with six kills. Trine had a pair of setters record a team-high 12 assists in Hood and senior Semantha Ihrie (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble). Gaff also led the team with a match-high three aces.
On defense, Toles had a combined six blocks (one solo and five assists) to lead all players. Scott and junior Morgan Harris (Crown Point, Ind./Merrillville) were tied for second with five blocks (five assists).
Trine will look to continue its momentum when it travels to Alma, Mich. for a MIAA matchup against Alma (Mich.) College tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 23). The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
