OLIVET, Mich. – The Trine University men's volleyball team snapped their seven-match losing skid in a big way on Saturday afternoon with a pair of victories in short order at Olivet College. The Thunder were victorious against St. Norbert College and the host Olivet, both 3-0. Trine is now 3-8 this season, while the Green Knights of St. Norbert are 3-7 overall and Comets of Olivet, 4-7.
TRINE vs ST. NORBERT RECAP:
The Thunder took full advantage of a St. Norbert team who was coming off a match with Olivet prior to and jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the first set. A pair of kills by Ted Hofmeister capped a run of nine consecutive points. A service ace from Matt Stillman completed the 25-12 set win where Trine had 13 kills to three errors and the Green Knights hit negative.
In the second, the Thunder slowly pulled away from their opponents en route to a 25-18 set win. Hofmeister led the way in the set with three kills, but Kevin Boncaro had two as well to pace the offense. A service error by St. Norbert concluded the second.
Trine hit .458 (13 kills, two errors) to wrap up the match in three. The Thunder fell behind early, but went on a 10-1 run to go up 17-8. Boncaro and Landon Barrow combined for a block to finish the rally. A pair of service aces by Nate Unsicker and Dylan Klumpp took the wind out of their opponent's sails in a 25-13 set win.
Hofmeister and Boncaro tied for the team lead with 11 points apiece, with Hofmeister slamming home a team-high 10 kills. Sam Bhandal distributed 25 assists and Boncaro led the way in the back row with eight digs. The team was perfect on serve receive.
TRINE vs OLIVET RECAP:
In a non-conference matchup with the Comets, Trine asserted their dominance by winning in straight sets. The first was the closest set of the afternoon at 25-21 in favor of the visitors. Olivet kept it close early, but the Thunder were able to pull away with a 7-1 run to make it 15-8. The team was ahead by 10 at 22-12 before a ferocious comeback from Olivet, but Bhandal found Boncaro for the set-clinching kill to stop a string of four straight for the Comets.
The next set would be the most lopsided between the two teams, with Trine winning 25-10. A run of eight consecutive points included three service aces from Boncaro at 13-2. The onslaught continued as a block by Ethan McLenon and Boncaro made it 20-6 and forced the second timeout of the set by the Comets. Bhandal and Barrow combined for the block to seal the victory in the second.
The teams battled back-and-forth in the third set, but ultimately the home team was worn down enough that the Thunder would sneak away with the win at 25-20. Another couple of aces by Boncaro got the team off to a hot start and the defense at the net forced attack errors by the opposition. There were three blocks within the first 10 points for Trine in the third set alone. Olivet got to within one at 16-15, but they would never get back in front from there as the Thunder took advantage of untimely errors.
The team had 10 aces, the second-most in a three-set match in program history and the most in any match this season. 12 total blocks sets a new school record for most in a three-set match. Boncaro had 17 points, including a team-high 10 kills and six aces. Six aces in a three-set match sets the individual school record. Bhandal accumulated 20 assists while Hunter Haas and Boncaro each had five digs.
The road trip for men's volleyball concludes with a single match at North Central College on Wednesday, February 22 beginning at 8 p.m. EST.
