ANGOLA, Ind. -- The Trine University women's volleyball team advances to the semi-finals of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) with a 3-1 victory over visiting Saint Mary's College.
The Thunder fell behind early in the first as the Belles took the first three points of the set. After a response from Trine, the two teams stayed close until the Thunder pulled ahead to an 18-14 lead and then held on for a victory 25-23.
The Belles then took the second set with the score of 25-22 to pull even 1-1 in the match. They then took an early lead in the fourth by the score of 8-3. The Thunder pulled back into the contest before falling behind again at 18-15 and again at 20-18. From there Trine pieced together a seven-point streak to take the win 25-20.
Trine kept the momentum into the fourth set taking seven of the first eight points. They then built a bigger lead at 15-8 and then held on to at least a six-point lead until they pulled away to 25-17 victory. The second to last point for the Thunder came on a solo block from senior Grace Wielfaert (Deerfield, Mich. / Britton-Macon), the first block of her career. Junior Madison Munger (Indianapolis, Ind. / Franklin Central) then blasted a ball into the backline of Saint Mary's to finish off the match with the 3-1 victory.
Munger led the way offensively for the Thunder finishing the contest with 21 kills on a .429 hitting percentage, both team-highs in the contest. The hitting percentage is here highest in a match this season.
Junior Sarah Toles (Kendallville, Ind. / East Noble) came in as a close second with 12 kills on a .321 hitting percentage while also adding six total blocks in the contest, a team-high. Classmate Chloe Behm (Albion, Ind. / Central Noble) also turned in a season-high performance with nine kills on a .250 hitting percentage.
Junior Jacqueline Baughman (Lake Orion, Mich. / Lutheran Northwest) once again led the way with 44 assists. Classmate Lindsey DeCamp (New Haven, Ind. / New Haven) led the team with 19 digs.
The Thunder improve to 18-12 overall. They advance to the semi-finals of the MIAA Volleyball Tournament. They will take on Hope College on Friday, Nov. 8 in a match hosted by Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Mich.