DECATUR, Ill. – The Trine women's volleyball team dropped the final two matches of the 5 State Classic on Saturday 3-1 to Millikin University and Loras College.
The Thunder fall back to .500 at 14-14 on the season, with Millikin and Loras both advancing to 15-7 records with wins.
TRINE vs MILLIKIN RECAP:
The first set of the day for Trine was an eventful one, as it needed extra points to complete. A pair of kills late in the first by Jocelynn Nicholls [Montgomery, Mich. / Camden-Frontier] gave the Thunder a 23-19 edge, but four straight points brought the Big Blue back into it. Olivia Jolliffe [Warren, Mich. / Cousino] made it set point with a kill at 25-24, but two straight points by Millikin forced a Trine timeout. A kill and ace by the Big Blue allowed the host institution to take a 1-0 lead, 28-26.
Millikin dominated the Thunder in set number two and rode 20 kills to a 25-13 victory. Nicholls and Hannah Sands [Jonesville, Mich. / Jonesville] led Trine in the set with three kills apiece.
Despite falling behind a few points early in the third, Trine showed a lot of grit to continue to fight and force a fourth set against Millikin. Rachel Campbell [Greenfield, Ind. / Greenfield Central] recorded a pair of service aces during a six-point run to take a 12-8 lead and it was five straight points to end the set at 25-19.
A poor start in the fourth set would doom the Thunder for the match. Trine fell behind 10-2, but three kills by Catherine Dobies [Ortonville, Mich. / Oxford] from Jacqueline Baughman [Lake Orion, Mich. / Lutheran Northwest] highlighted the fourth. Another 7-0 scoring spurt by Millikin allowed them to run away 25-15 to wrap up the match.
Nicholls and Jolliffe led the Thunder with 12 and 10 kills each, and Baughman assisted on 34 of 36 total kills. Kacie VanKalker [Dyer, Ind. / Illiana Christian] was the team leader in digs with 14.
TRINE vs LORAS RECAP:
10 first set errors by Trine prevented them from gaining momentum over Loras as the Duhawks waltz to a 25-15 win. Dobies had four kills in the first set alone to set the pace for the Thunder offense.
The second set looked as if it might also go Loras' way in lopsided fashion, but a big run by Trine cut into the deficit. Down 21-15, Chloe Behm [Albion, Ind. / Central Noble] notched a kill, then it was Campbell who served back-to-back aces and Francesca Queary [Midland, Mich. / H.H. Dow] sent one to the floor to force the Duhawks into a timeout. Loras regrouped to take set number two 25-20.
A massive 13-0 run in the third set gave Trine a huge advantage. Baughman had a kill and four aces during the streak which made it 18-5 Thunder and the Duhawks without a timeout left to spark a comeback. Trine was able to use a timeout to stop a mild four-point run by Loras to make it 2-1 with a 25-17 victory.
The Duhawks pulled out a 25-18 set four win to win the match 3-1, but a 6-1 scoring run brought Trine within one at 17-16. Queary, Jolliffe and Mikaila Sullivan [Terre Haute, Ind. / Terre Haute South Vigo] all had kills in the run.
Queary led the way with a team-high 11 kills and two block assists, with Sullivan. Baughman contributed with 40 assists and four service aces, tying her personal high for most aces in a season at 46.
Trine returns to conference play on Tuesday, October 19 against Alma. That match will be a part of Community Day at Hershey Hall and begin at 6:30 pm.