BRONX, N.Y. -- The Trine University men's volleyball team ended a nine-match winless streak with a 3-0 win against the College of Mount St. Vincent in non-conference action in Bronx, N.Y.
Sophomore Eric Santiago-Garcia (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Glen Ridge) led the team in kills with 13 and had a .450 attack percentage. Freshman Chris Dargan (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln Way West) was second in kills with seven and the duo of senior Hunter Monday (Beech Grove, Ind./Lutheran) and sophomore Dan Boren (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) both had five kills.
Monday also tallied 27 of the team's 31 set assists and was one of three players to have two service aces. Freshman Parker Beale (Noblesville, Ind./Fishers) and Boren also had two aces, while Santiago-Garcia led all players with three aces.
Defensively, Santiago-Garcia was one of three players to finish with a match-tying high four digs.
Trine (4-12) had a slight advantage early by a 3-2 margin following a kill by Monday. The Thunder then began to put some distance between them and CMSV (2-15) with a 14-4 scoring run to take an 11-point lead by a score of 17-6. Trine went on to lead by as many as 13 points that included a final score of 25-12 following a service error by the Dolphins that sealed the win for the Thunder.
CMSV started set number two with back-to-back points and went on to have a seven-point lead, 19-12, when Trine began to rally. Six straight kills by Trine that included two by Monday and three by Santiago-Garcia, began a run of seven straight points that evened the set at 19-19. After a kill by CMSV, Trine then scored three consecutive points to take the lead, 22-20. The Thunder never trailed in the game again and went on to lead by as many as three points, including the final of 25-22 to take a 2-0 match lead.
The third set saw Trine jump out to an early 8-1 lead aided by five straight kills with three of those kills going to Santiago-Garcia. The Dolphins got to within five points, but that was as close as CMSV got the rest of the way as the Thunder posted a large lead of 12 points by a score of 20-8. Trine then went on to win the set by a final of 25-17, and the match by a final of 3-0.
Trine will next host Olivet (Mich.) College in a Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League matchup at Hershey Hall on Friday, Mar. 13. The match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
