ANGOLA, IND.-- The Trine volleyball team extended their winning-streak to six matches, as they swept Albion 3-0 (25-8, 25-19, 25-10) Tuesday night in Hershey Hall.
The win gives the Thunder the best 15-match start on record in school-history, running the team's overall record to 13-2. The previous-best 15-match start was 12-3 in 2012. Trine notched 18 service aces on the evening, the fourth-highest in any match in school-history and the second-most ever in a three-set match in school-history. The Thunder have now won 15 sets in a row, a school-record. Trine outhit Albion by a .311 to .041 margin. Olivia Deck (Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge) and Lauren Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) led the attack with nine kills apiece. The Thunder are now 6-2 in MIAA matches. Albion falls to 3-14 overall and 1-7 in conference matches.
Megan Verkamp (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) and Mikayla Carpenter (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) led the charge from the service line with a team-high four aces. Lauren Verkamp moved into fourth on Trine's all-time list in aces with 119.
Deck hit an efficient .667 clip to help pace the offense. Taylor Rabel (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) added seven kills to give the junior exactly 800 in her career. Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) spread the ball around efficient for the Thunder attack, passing out 26 assists and adding 11 digs on the defensive end.
Stephanie Thurner led the Albion attack with seven kills. Kristen Beyer notched a match-high 16 digs for the Britons. Ami Milligan added 14 assists.
The Thunder were not seriously threatened in any of the three sets. The Thunder held Albion to a -.250 hitting percentage in the first set, while hitting at a .381 clip themselves. An eight-point run with Searles holding serve turned a 6-3 lead into a 14-3 advantage to bury the Britons early.
An 11-4 start to the second set helped Trine grab a 2-0 lead. Two kills by Laura Hartman (Laingsburg, Mich./Laingsburg) highlighted a five-point rally early in the set. The Britons did outhit Trine by a .333 to .233 margin, but eight Thunder aces helped make up the difference.
A six-point rally early in the final set broke open a 6-5 lead into a 12-5 advantage. From the one-point advantage on, the Thunder outscored Albion 19-5 the rest of the set. Trine hit .385 while holding the Britons to a -.111 clip in the final set.
Trine opens the second half of MIAA-play Saturday when they travel to no. 5-ranked Calvin. First serve is set for 1 p.m.