ALBION, Mich. – In a tri-match at Albion College, the Trine University women's volleyball team split with the host Britons and the Franklin College Grizzlies. In the team's opening match, the Thunder lost to Albion in straight sets, but rebounded for a 3-1 non-conference win against Franklin.
Overall, Trine is an even 7-7, but 0-2 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play following the loss to the nationally-ranked Britons. #18 Albion is 13-2 at day's end and 1-1 in league action. The Grizzlies got a win versus Albion to make their record 6-8 in 2022.
TRINE vs #18 ALBION:
The Thunder played even with the Britons early in the first set, with Catherine Dobies, Madsion Dominick, Cassidy Victor and Jocelynn Nicholls all contributing with kills on offense. Trine withstood a rally by Albion at 16-10 with four consecutive points of their own to cause a timeout for the home team. The break would be effective for the Britons in the 25-19 set win. The Thunder put together more attacks in the first 42-32, but were unable to make the most of their opportunities.
A service ace by Kacie Van Kalker provided an early advantage for Trine at 3-1, but slowly and methodically, Albion was able to pull ahead. The Thunder had to use both timeouts during a 9-2 Briton scoring run at 22-12, but the opponents used a match-high .333 hitting percentage en route to a 25-18 win.
Dominick and Francesca Queary combined for a block that got Trine out to a lead in the opening stages of set three, 7-3. Another ace from Van Kalker forced a timeout at 13-12 Thunder. They used their second timeout of the third when Dobies spotted an ace as well to go up 18-15. Unfortunately, 10 of the final 12 points went to Albion, sending the Thunder to a 25-20 loss in set three.
In total, Dobies led the way with nine kills. Queary scored seven total points, three coming from blocks (one solo). Kailee Cornell distributed a team-high 13 assists. Van Kalker (16) and Dobies (10) were each in double figures in digs.
TRINE vs FRANKLIN:
The first set against Franklin saw Trine play hungry for a victory. The team got ahead 10-2, with four points coming from aces – Cornell with two and one apiece by Van Kalker and Olivia Jolliffe. They would carry the momentum for the duration of the set and Joslynn Battle found Victor for a kill to make it 18-7, their largest lead of the first. The Thunder would hold off a late rally by the Grizzlies in a 25-19 win.
It was Franklin that got in front first in the second set and forced Trine into a timeout down 16-11. The team responded well and rattled off four in a row to get back into the fight. Battle found Victor again to make it 22-19 Thunder, but Franklin recovered to send the second to extra points. A Jolliffe kill made the score 24-23 Trine, but three in a row for the Grizzlies allowed them to even the match at one set each, 26-24.
The Thunder took advantage of a match-high eight errors by Franklin in the third set to win the third by a score of 25-21. A block by Queary and Victor gave the team their first lead of the set 14-13 and reclaimed that advantage at 20-19. From there, the Thunder scored five of the next seven points to take the lead in the match two sets to one.
It looked as though the match was going the distance in the fourth after the team found themselves down five at 21-16, but a kill by Queary sparked a massive scoring run. Trine scored eight of the next nine points and the Grizzlies had to burn a timeout to regroup. It once again went extra points as the two traded scores, but Queary and Jolliffe would end the set and match with consecutive kills at 28-26.
Dobies finished with a double-double at 14 kills and 17 digs in match two. Victor was key to the offense as well with 14 kills of her own. The senior Battle recorded a season-high 26 assists and notched a double-double with 11 digs. Van Kalker led the team with 22 digs from the back row.
Up next, Trine gets back to playing conference foes when the team travels to Kalamazoo College on Wednesday, September 28. First serve is slated for 6:30 pm.