NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Trine University women's volleyball team got a road win on Tuesday night in a non-conference match against Saint Mary's College. The Thunder were victorious in straight sets to collect their first win of 2022.
Trine moves to 1-3 on the year thanks in big part to a career-high 12 kills from Cassidy Victor. She hit .407 in the match on 27 attempts, a team-high. The Belles are now 3-2 this fall.
Set number one saw the Thunder jump out to a 3-0 lead, with Catherine Dobies and Victor combining for three straight kills to open the set. Saint Mary's was able to remain in the fight and tied the first on a few different occasions before taking the lead at 17-16. A timeout by head coach Jamie Wozniak helped spark a 9-3 scoring run and Dobies recorded a kill to win the set 25-20.
Kailee Cornell served back-to-back aces early in the second during a four-point Trine run to go up 4-2. Victor and Olivia Jolliffe continued to pace the offense, but once more the Belles scratched their way back into it and took the lead 14-12. This time, they would pull away slightly and had the Thunder on their heels at 22-19. Another four-point run, highlighted by a block assist and kill from Meara Finnegan, put Trine back in front 23-22 and forced Saint Mary's to use both their timeouts. The Thunder would take advantage of two miscues to secure the 26-24 victory.
Francesca Queary, Joslynn Battle, Madison Dominick and Jocelynn Nicholls sprinkled in solid plays in the third set to take a commanding 17-11 lead. Kacie Van Kalker recorded consecutive aces out of a Belles timeout that would help extend the Thunder lead, but the host institution showed fight to the bitter end. Six straight points for Saint Mary's tied the set up at 17, but that would be answered by four in a row for Trine. Bethany Ulring ended the third set and the match with an ace for the exclamation point on a solid night.
Along with Victor's 12 kills and 14 total points, Jolliffe had an impact on both the offensive (six kills) and defensive (seven digs) sides of the ball. Cornell registered a double-double with 21 assists and 10 digs. Van Kalker dug up the most attacks on the night with 20, a career-high for the sophomore. The team had eight blocks in the match, including five block assists by Nicholls.
Trine will compete at home for the first time this season on Friday, September 9 and Saturday, September 10 when the Thunder host the MIAA/NCAC Crossover Tournament. The first match will be versus Hiram College on Friday at 7 pm. All matches for the weekend will be held inside the MTI Center.