NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Trine University women's volleyball team made quick work of the Manchester University Spartans Wednesday night with a 3-0 sweep: 25-21, 25-17 and 25-10.
The Thunder get back to even at 5-5 on the season and Manchester falls to 4-6 overall.
In the opening set, Trine made the most of their 30 attack opportunities in a four-point victory. The Thunder were down early, but senior Chloe Behm [Albion, Ind. / Central Noble] got Trine going with a kill and errors by the Spartans allowed the visiting team to tie the game.
Manchester continued to fight in the first and reclaimed a lead at 16-13, but Mikaila Sullivan [Terre Haute, Ind. / Terre Haute South Vigo] converted an attack into a point to spark an 8-1 run. Sullivan and Rachel Campbell [Greenfield, Ind. / Greenfield Central] each had service aces during the offensive streak, two of 12 aces in the match for the Thunder.
Anna Loughrey [West Bloomfield, Mich. / Walled Lake Central] converted a kill off the feed from Jacqueline Baughman [Lake Orion, Mich. / Lutheran Northwest] and a Manchester error ended the first 25-21.
Set two was highlighted by an efficient .391 hitting percentage by the Thunder with 12 total kills. Hannah Sands [Jonesville, Mich. / Jonesville] and Francesca Queary [Midland, Mich. / H.H. Dow] each sent the ball to the floor to lead the charge in the frame.
Trine took advantage of nine errors by the Spartans in the third and ultimately final set of the match. The onslaught came with Olivia Jolliffe [Warren, Mich. / Cousino] serving a majority of the set. Jolliffe had three aces in a 7-0 run to give Trine an early lead, and finished the match with nine consecutive points in a 25-10 win.
Category leaders for the Thunder included Jolliffe with eight kills and six aces, Baughman with 23 assists, Samantha Carlin [Celina, Ohio / Celina] at nine digs and Jocelynn Nicholls [Montgomery, Mich. / Camden-Frontier] blocking three of Manchester's attacks.
Trine will take part in the Hanover Invitational this weekend with four matches, starting against Franklin College on Friday, September 17 at 6 pm.