ALLIANCE, OHIO -- The Trine University men's volleyball team lost a pair of Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) matches against the University of Mount Union, 3-0 and 3-1, in Alliance, Ohio.
Trine fell to Mount Union in the first match by the scores of 16-25, 21-25 and 14-25.
In game one, Trine (x-x, x-x MCVL) grabbed an early lead with back-to-back points on a kill by sophomore Parker Beale (Noblesville, Ind./Fishers) and a service ace by freshman Matt Stillman (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln Way Central). Mount Union (xx-xx, xx-xx MCVL) then went on a 5-0 scoring run to take the lead and later pulled away to make it an 18-10 game. The deficit hovered around the 10-point mark the rest of the way as the Purple Raiders went on to the 25-16 final.
The second set was a tightly contested game between the two squads with neither team leading by more than a point or two until about the midway point when Mount Union tallied three straight points with the score even at 11-11 to get a little breathing room by a 14-11 margin. The Thunder later battled back to get to within a point, 19-18, following an ace by junior Eric Santiago-Garcia (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Glen Ridge). The two teams then traded points with Trine's coming on another kill by Beale, keeping it a one-point margin at 20-19. The Purple Raiders then scored three unanswered points to take a 22-19 lead and sealed the victory on a Trine error en route to the 25-20 final.
Going into the third set, Mount Union jumped out to a quick 3-1 advantage and never trailed ini the game. Trine worked its way back to within a point multiple times with the last being an 7-7 deficit following an ace by Santiago-Garcia. The Raiders then took control of the game with an ensuing 8-1 run to go up by eight points, 16-8. Mount Union led by as many as 13 points, including a 24-11 lead, but a kill by Santiago-Garcia, followed by back-to-back errors by Mount Union, fought off three straight match points for the home team before the Purple Raiders tallied the winning point to claim the set by a final of 25-14 and take the overall match by a final of 3-0.
Statistically, Beale led Trine in kills with eight and was followed by sophomore Dominic Saenz (Wall Twp., N.J./Wall) with six kills. Sophomore Ethan Howard (South Whitley, Ind./Whitko) had a team-high 19 assists and Santiago-Garcia had a pair of aces to round out the offensive leaders.
Freshman Hunter Haas (Cincinnati, Ohio/Bishop Moeller) ended the match in double figures in digs with 11 and Howard was second with nine digs. Beale recorded a solo block to lead the Thunder up front at the net.
In the final match of the afternoon, Trine lost in four sets by the scores of 26-28, 25-19, 23-25 and 19-25.
The first set featured a close game that needed extra points to decide the outcome. Santiago-Garcia got the scoring going for Trine and then back-to-back Mount Union errors gave the Thunder an early 3-0 lead. The Purple Raiders scored four straight points to move ahead on the scoreboard and both squads then played at a back-and-forth pace the rest of the way. Momentum shifted regularly in the seesaw battle that saw Trine regain a three-point spread later in the set on an ace by Howard that made it a 15-12 game. The home squad rallied again with a 5-1 run to go up by a margin of 18-16 and was able to maintain the lead and eventually move into set point, 24-21. The Thunder fought off three straight set points, highlighted by a kill by Howard, to even the set at 24-24 and later did so again thanks to a Mount Union service error to tie it at 25-25. With the score even at 26-26, Mount Union got the go-ahead point on a kill and then claimed the set after a Trine error on the very next rally to come away with the 28-26 victory.
Mount Union took an early 3-0 lead in set two before Trine answered with three unanswered points of its own that included a kill by junior Dan Boren (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) to make it a 3-3 game. Neither team led by more than a couple of points until Trine struck for three consecutive scores with the teams knotted at 11-11 on back-to-back kills by Boren and Beale, then an ace by Stillman that put the Thunder in front, 14-11. Trine began to pull away and went on to lead by as many as seven points (23-16) following an ace by Saenz, and went on to post a 25-19 win to even the overall match at a game apiece.
The third set featured another close battle, but it was Mount Union who'd end up as the victor with a two-point victory (25-23). The set remained close throughout with neither team being able to separate itself on the scoreboard by more than a couple of points. Late in the set, the Raiders had a 23-20 advantage when three straight kills by Trine that began with Beale and then back-to-back kills by Dixon, tied the game at 23-23. After a timeout by Mount Union, the Purple Raiders scored two points on consecutive kills to outlast Trine for the win and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Both teams battled to a 12-12 tie in the fourth set when three straight kills by Trine, one from Saenz and two from Dixon, put the Thunder out ahead, 15-12. Momentum then swung in Mount Union's favor with an ensuing 7-2 run to regain control by a 19-17 margin. A few points later, Stillman pulled Trine to within a point (20-19) thanks to a kill. but that's as close as the Thunder got as Mount Union then rattled off the last five points it needed to claim the set and win the overall match by a final of 3-1.
Dixon and Beale led the Trine offensive attack with both finishing in double figures in kills. Dixon finished with a match-high 16 kills and had a .300 attack percentage. Beale finished a close second with 14 kills. Howard had a match-high 39 assists and also led all players with four aces.
Haas recorded a match-best 18 digs and was followed by Saenz who had 16 digs. Beale finished the match with three blocks (all solo) to lead the team and Boren was second with a pair of blocks (all solo).
Trine is scheduled to travel to Crawfordsville, Ind. to take on MCVL opponent Wabash (Ind.) College in a pair of matches next Sunday, Mar. 14. The first match is set to start at 1 p.m.
