MILWAUKEE, WIS. -- The Trine University men's volleyball team traveled to Milwaukee, Wis. to take on Milwaukee School of Engineering in a non-conference match, but fell to the Raiders in straight sets, 3-0.
The Thunder played three competitive sets, but ultimately lost by the scores of 22-25, 21-25 and 21-25.
Sophomore Kyle Dixon (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Twp.) and freshman Dominic Saenz (Wall Twp., N.J./Wall) both led the Trine offense with six kills each. Freshman Parker Beale (Noblesville, Ind./Fishers) rounded out the top three with four kills.
Senior Hunter Monday (Beech Grove, Ind./Lutheran) tallied 14 of the team's 16 assists on the night and was also one of two players with a service ace. Dixon was the other Thunder player with an ace.
On defense, Monday had a team-high eight digs and was followed by sophomore Eric Santiago-Garcia (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Glen Ridge) with five digs. At the net, four players finished with a block in the match. Beale, Saenz, sophomore Dan Boren (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) and freshman Chris Dargan (Manhattanville, Ill./Lincoln Way West) all had a block assist.
Trine (3-5) led early in the first set by a point on two occasions following an ace by Monday and a MSOE service error for a 9-8 edge. The Raiders then scored four straight points to take a 12-9 advantage and never trailed again. Trine came back to tie the score at 14-14 as part of back-to-back points scored by Dixon on a kill and then an attack error by the home squad. But the Thunder couldn't take back control as the Raiders answered with three consecutive points and held on for the 25-22 final.
In the second set, Trine grabbed the early lead with an opening error by MSOE on the first serve of the game and later had a two-point advantage, 7-5, after a kill by Beale. MSOE then scored the next three points to move ahead on the scoreboard, 8-7. After a Raider attack error evened the game at 8-8, MSOE answered with three more straight points to complete a 6-1 scoring run and take an 11-8 margin. The Raiders went on to lead by five points in the set which put enough distance between them and the Thunder to come out as the winners by a final of 25-21 and took a 2-0 match lead.
Both teams played a close game early on in set number three, but MSOE would eventually begin to pull away and led by as many as six points on multiple occasions down the stretch. Trine made a late run with points that came on three straight errors by MSOE that made it a three-point game, 24-21. The home team would get the final point it needed on the next sequence to take the set, 25-21, and the straight-set overall match victory, 3-0.
Trine returns to action next Saturday, Feb. 15 when the Thunder hosts a tri-match against Indiana Tech and Hiram (Ohio) College. Trine will take on Indiana Tech in its first match beginning at 9 a.m. at Hershey Hall.
