ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University women's volleyball team was able to pick up a conference win on Tuesday night via a three-set sweep of Alma College at Hershey Hall.
The wins pushes the Thunder record to 15-14 overall and 4-2 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) action. Alma falls to 1-15 on the season and 0-6 in league play.
Set one was dominated by the Thunder 25-10, with Trine taking advantage of nine Scot errors. A pair of kills by Jocelynn Nicholls [Montgomery, Mich. / Camden-Frontier] and an attack error forced an early Alma timeout in the midst of an 8-2 run. Nicholls served up three consecutive aces later in the first to continue to extend the gap. All told, Nicholls had four kills in seven first set attempts, three aces and chipped in on four block assists.
It was the Scots who got off to a hot start in the second, taking their own 8-2 edge before a kill by Anna Loughrey [West Bloomfield, Mich. / Walled Lake Central] turned the tide for the home squad. The turning point of the set came in a 5-0 scoring run by the Thunder and a kill by Jacqueline Baughman [Lake Orion, Mich. / Lutheran Northwest] gave Trine their first lead at 16-15. Six straight points by the Thunder allowed them to stave off the late Scot run, 25-22.
Olivia Jolliffe [Warren, Mich. / Cousino] had a pair of early kills in the third to give Trine a slight lead, 10-6. The teams went back-and-forth through the middle stages of the set and a big run highlighted by a pair of Meara Finnegan [Blissfield, Mich. / Blissfield] kills put the match out of reach. An attack error from Alma gave the Thunder a 3-0 sweep at 25-17.
Samantha Carlin [Celina, Ohio / Celina] was an x-factor in the back row. She led the team with 17 digs and is nearing 500 for the season. Jolliffe and Kacie VanKalker [Dyer, Ind. / Illiana Christian] were in double figures as well with 10 digs each. Jolliffe was the team leader offensively with 10 kills, following closely behind were Nicholls and Baughman with nine apiece.
There's only two more regular season matches for Trine, the next coming on Wednesday, October 27 at Saint Mary's College. The teams met earlier this season, with the Thunder coming out on top, 3-0. The conference matchup will begin at 7 pm.