ANGOLA, Ind. – In the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and home opener for the Trine University women's volleyball team, the Thunder were defeated by the Adrian College Bulldogs 3-1. Trine was able to come out strong by taking set one, but struggled in the second set and were unable to snag either of the third or fourth sets despite the scores being close.
The loss halts the Thunder's seven match win streak and puts them back at .500 at 7-7 overall. Trine is now 0-1 in league play with Adrian moving to 1-0 and has a 6-6 mark.
Eleven miscues by the opponents allowed the Thunder to claim set one, 25-23. The Bulldogs took a lead of 13-9, but a spurt of eight points out of eleven put them in front 17-16, capped off by a kill from senior Olivia Jolliffe. Five straight points for Adrian forced Trine to use their second timeout of the first, but the break was effective in shifting momentum in the set. Junior Catherine Dobies was true on back-to-back kills to secure the set's final five points and the victory for the home squad.
The Bulldogs threw set two's first punch by going up 6-2, but three straight kills from juniors Cassidy Victor, Dobies and Madison Dominick got the score back to even at 9-9. Dominick and junior Francesca Queary combined for a block that forced a timeout by the Bulldogs trailing 12-10. The final nine points of the set would belong to Adrian as they cruised to the 25-17 set win.
The Bulldogs once again put themselves ahead early in the third set at 17-10. A timeout there by head coach Jamie Wozniak as well as trailing 20-12 helped the Thunder mount a comeback that ultimately came up short, 25-22. Service aces by sophomore Anna Zellers and Dobies helped Trine go from nine down to three down late in the third.
In set number four it was the Thunder who worked from in front after scoring seven of the first eight points. As the set wore on, Trine remained in front at 17-13, but Adrian surged late to try to put the match to bed. Five consecutive points by the visitors allowed them to take their first lead of the fourth at 18-17, and it would require extra points in order to determine a winner after the Bulldogs surrendered a 23-20 advantage.
The Thunder were able to rattle off five straight points with back-to-back kills by Queary, then a kill by Dominick, a block by Queary and Jolliffe and finally a kill by Dobies. That put Trine ahead 25-24, but the final three points of the night were on the other side of the net for a 27-25 final tally in set four.
Dominick continued her hot streak on offense with another new career-high with 17 kills. Dobies (12), Victor (10) and Queary (10) were also in double figures. Zellers was responsible for 28 assists to tie her career-best. Freshman Lindsey Call distributed 20 assists to tie her career mark as well. In the back row, junior Rachel Campbell tied her best mark with a team-high 25 digs. Four other student-athletes had double-figure digs including Dobies with 20 (career-high), Jolliffe with 16, Zellers with 14 and junior Kacie Van Kalker with 11.
Up next for Trine is another MIAA home match versus Albion College on Saturday, September 30 at 1 p.m.