ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University women's volleyball team was able to make quick work of Kalamazoo College on Wednesday to secure their first Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) win of 2023. The Thunder swept the Hornets 3-0, with the closest set coming with an eight-point scoring differential.
The win brings Trine back to the .500 plateau at 8-8 and the team is 1-2 in league play. Kalamazoo is now 6-9 in total and 1-2 as well inside the MIAA.
In the first match in the month of October, the Trine women's volleyball program wore their pink jerseys in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Sophomore setter Anna Zellers had this to say about the importance of bringing awareness to finding a cure: "We are really lucky to be able to play the game of volleyball and we appreciate the moment to be able to play for those who can't because of this illness."
In the first set, the score remained close early, but the Thunder would start to pull away thanks to a stretch of six points out of seven to get ahead 13-8. A pair of points by senior Olivia Jolliffe later on would continue the scoring attack at 20-12 and force the Hornets into their second timeout of the first. Junior Cassidy Victor would be responsible for three kills down the stretch in the set to claim victory, 25-17.
Dominance at the net in the second set would result in Trine taking the early lead, 9-5. The group of Jolliffe, juniors Madison Dominick and Francesca Queary as well as sophomore Kylie Rowland had a block assist each to keep their opponents with a negative hitting percentage in the set. Coming out of a timeout by the Hornets, the Thunder kept their torrid pace and went on to win the second set by a score of 25-11. Trine had a match-high hitting percentage of .370 in the set with 11 kills to one error. Dominick had four kills in the final 10 points for Trine en route to the victory.
An ace by junior Catherine Dobies capped a 4-0 run to begin the third set and put the Thunder on track for the sweep. Newcomers to the match senior Anna Loughrey and freshman Emmaline Leatherman made their presence known with some early kills while freshman Julia Maggio served during a 7-0 run for the offense that made it 15-5. Sophomore Aleena Keh and freshman Gracie Pettit scored points late with one kill apiece as well to get to the 25-10 final tally.
Trine was perfect on service receptions with zero errors on 36 receptions and were .775 on sideouts (31-for-40). Dobies (14) and junior Rachel Campbell (13) were targeted most on Kalamazoo serves and were up to the task on Wednesday. "We were working our seams and trusting each other in the back row," Campbell pointed out. "We did a good job of communicating on every single ball because we know we can do that and carry this momentum looking ahead this season."
Along with her leadership on opposing serves, Campbell also recorded a team-high in digs with 10 on the evening. Trine had a .211 attack percentage in the match, led by Victor with eight kills. Zellers and freshman Lindsey Call had 14 and 13 assists.
"This was a really good team win to get under our belt and give us confidence to keep winning in the conference," Queary mentioned post-match. "I thought it was a team win where everyone contributed!"
A top-10 opponent in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll in #7 Calvin University on Tuesday, October 10. The road contest begins at 6:30 p.m.