OLIVET, Mich. – The Trine University women's volleyball team had a quality bounce back victory Friday night 3-1 at Olivet College.
The win pushes the Thunder record to 13-11 this season and 3-1 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) action. Olivet is 7-11 and 1-3 in 2021.
Set one was claimed by the Thunder 25-22 on the back of a 12-2 kill-to-error ratio on attacks. Trine took a 6-2 advantage and never trailed in the set again. The Comets fought back to tie the set on a few occasions mid-set, but a five-point swing led by two kills from Jocelynn Nicholls [Montgomery, Mich. / Camden-Frontier] gave momentum back to the Thunder and they carried it through to the second set.
Olivet evened the match with a 25-23 second set win, but it was not due to a lack of effort, as the Thunder fell just short on a comeback attempt in the late goings. The Thunder trailed 22-14 and 24-18 but grinded back into the set with a service ace by Rachel Campbell [Greenfield, Ind. / Greenfield Central] and consecutive kills by Nicholls. The Comets used both timeouts to settle the home squad and eventually polish off the second.
The tipping point of the match was the third set, where it was a back-and-forth affair until the end. Trine was able to dig out a 26-24 victory to take a two-sets-to-one lead. Olivia Jolliffe [Warren, Mich. / Cousino] was able to secure the set-winning point with a kill off a feed from Campbell.
Bethany Ulring [Dayton, Ohio / Bellbrook] entered as an early substitute in set four and was key in getting the Thunder out to an early lead. She served in six straight points and Jacqueline Baughman [Lake Orion, Mich. / Lutheran Northwest] recorded back-to-back kills in the scoring stretch. Trine coasted to a 25-14 win to seal the match with a kill by Hannah Sands [Jonesville, Mich. / Jonesville].
Francesca Queary [Midland, Mich. / H.H. Dow] showed consistency throughout the match on her way to a team-high 12 kills. Baughman was the assist on 39 of the team's 45 combined kills. Four different Thunder athletes notched double-digit dig numbers: Kacie VanKalker [Dyer, Ind. / Illiana Christian] (19), Samantha Carlin [Celina, Ohio / Celina] (15), Jolliffe (14) and Baughman (14). Nicholls combined for five block assists at the net.
It is a tough road test for the Thunder on Wednesday, October 13 when Trine travels to NCAA DIII #6 Calvin. First serve is at 6:30 pm.