Alma Slips Past Trine in Five-Set Thriller

Alma Slips Past Trine in Five-Set Thriller

ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine women's volleyball team was defeated by Alma College by three sets to two.

The first set was a back and forth affair with both teams trading points until they found themselves in a tie at 15 points. The Thunder would take advantage of a service error by the Scots that broke that tie and would go on a 7-2 run to build a 22-17 lead. During the run, sophomore Molly Smith (Angola/Angola) and freshman Emma Gaff (Hamilton/Hamilton) would both record kills and freshman Madison Munger (Indianapolis/Franklin Central) would tally a service ace. Junior Shannon Scott (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) would finish off the set with a kill of her own for the 25-19 set win.

The second set would unfold almost identically to the first with both teams trading points until coming to a tie, this time at 17 points apiece, but this time Alma would go on the 7-2 run building a 24-19 lead. Despite a three-point comeback by the Thunder, the Scots would hold on to win the set by 25-22.

In the third set, Trine would build an early 8-6 lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the set, despite numerous attempts by Alma. Scott would once again finish off the set with a kill for the Trine 25-21 win.

The fourth set would once again see the Thunder build an early lead, this time 15-9. Alma would respond with a six-point streak to tie the game at 15. The teams would trade points for most of the rest of the set culminating in a 24-24 tie, which the Scots would come out of on top for the 26-24 set win, knotting the match at two sets each.

The final set was once again a close one with the teams tied at seven points each before they switched sides. Alma would then score the next four to build a lead that they would carry to the finish, winning the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.

Scott led the Thunder with 18 kills in the match and was second among the team's hitters with a .316 attack percentage. Smith finished first on the team with a .429 attack percentage and 8 kills. Gaff finished the match with 12 kills and a team-high four aces.

Junior Raven Hood (Monroe, Mich./Airport) finished with a team-high 25 assists and added 19 digs as well. Freshman Lindsey DeCamp (New Haven/New Haven) led the team with 23 digs and added two service aces as well.

Two Trine players would finish the game with match-high eight blocks. Scott reached the total with eight blocking assists, while freshman Sarah Toles (Kendallville/East Noble) marked up seven blocking assists and a solo block.

The Thunder will look to bounce back in their final home match of the season on Friday, Oct. 27 when Kalamazoo College comes to town for a 7:00 p.m. contest.