GREENCASTLE, Ind. – The Trine University women's volleyball team opened up the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association/North Coast Athletic Conference (MIAA/NCAC) Crossover event on Friday with a pair of matches against the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and host DePauw University on Friday. Then on Saturday morning, the team squared off with Hiram College to conclude the event.
The Thunder dropped both matches in straight sets to the Fightin' Engineers and Tigers and fell to 0-6 overall this year. Both Rose-Hulman and DePauw end the day with identical 3-3 records. Saturday's match saw Trine obtain their first victory of the 2023 season 3-0 over the Terriors. The Thunder are 1-6 overall while Hiram is 2-6.
TRINE vs ROSE-HULMAN RECAP:
After scoring four of the first five points in the match, the Thunder offense began to sputter as ten in a row went to the Fightin' Engineers. That scoring run would be enough to fuel a 25-15 set one win for Rose-Hulman.
After falling behind early in the second 14-10, Trine found a spark led by senior Olivia Jolliffe and junior Madison Dominick. Each of them had a pair of kills to help the Thunder draw even at 17-17 and Trine took the lead 19-18 thanks to a combined block by Jolliffe and junior Francesca Queary. Down the stretch, the score remained tight, but back-to-back points for Rose-Hulman allowed them to secure the 26-24 victory.
Seniors Meara Finnegan and Anna Loughrey helped put the Thunder ahead in the third set 12-11, but Trine was forced to use both timeouts shortly after to stop the Fightin' Engineers from pulling away. Three kills by Queary late in the set gave the Thunder a 23-21 edge, however the final four points of the set and match went to Rose-Hulman to put away Trine 25-23.
Jolliffe paced the offense with eight kills, but junior Catherine Dobies as well as Finnegan and Queary added six apiece. Sophomore Anna Zellers had her first career double-double with a team-high 17 assists and 10 digs. Junior Rachel Campbell had the most digs for the squad with 15.
TRINE vs DEPAUW RECAP:
A quick start in the first set by DePauw forced Trine into a timeout trailing 9-3. The lead for the Tigers would balloon all the way to 20-8 before Jolliffe was able to rattle off four kills late in the 25-16 set one defeat.
The start of set two went better for the Thunder as they took the lead at 8-7 thanks to a six-point scoring run bookended by kills from Dominick and junior Cassidy Victor. DePauw would regain control of the match with a massive run of 13 points out of 15 to cruise to a 25-18 win.
Trine got a pair of service aces from the setter Zellers in the third set, but a negative hitting percentage doomed the team to a three-set loss, 25-16 in the final set. Dobies was the team leader in kills with seven in the match and tied freshman Jordan Budzinski for the team lead in digs with nine. Zellers tallied 11 assists and freshman Lindsey Call added eight.
TRINE vs HIRAM RECAP:
The Thunder were able to carry out a meticulous attack on the Terriers in set number one and never relinquished the lead in a 25-21 set win. Trine had 13 kills in the first set, led by Queary and Victor. The setter Call orchestrated the offense with seven first set assists. The Thunder went up by as many as five at 13-8 and outlasted a stingy comeback effort when Hiram cut the lead down to one at 17-16.
Trine was dominant in set two with a match-high .323 hitting percentage (13 kills/three errors) and a 25-12 victory. Dobies and Queary each had a kill early on when the Thunder scored the first four points of the set. Aces by Jolliffe and sophomore Cara Wlodarczyk helped pushed the lead to 12 at 20-8 later on. A combined block by Victor and Finnegan helped close the set out.
Another strong start in the third propelled Trine to the quick win. Trine scored the first five points of set three and took a commanding 20-9 lead, very similar to the set before. Sophomore Aleena Keh etched her name in the scoring column in the match as well with a kill late in the match. The 25-16 set three triumph was obtained thanks to 12 more kills on offense.
Dominick and Queary had eight kills apiece to pace the team and Zellers contributed with 16 aces and she had three of the team's seven aces. Three student-athletes were in double figures in the back row: Campbell (12), Call (11) and Jolliffe (10). The team's eight total blocks are a season-high, with Queary chipping in on five of them (one solo).
The Thunder compete in a true road match on Tuesday, September 12 at Defiance College. That match begins at 6:30 p.m.