ALBION, MICH. -- The Trine University women's volleyball team forced extra points in three sets but came up short against host Albion College by the score of 3-1.
In the first set, The Thunder took an early 6-3 lead but both teams would trade the lead throughout the set. The Britons would reach 25 first, only for Trine to tie them and force extra points. The teams would tie again at 26 before Albion took the final two points for the 28-26 victory.
The second set was the least closely contested of the night, and still, the teams found themselves tied at 21 apiece. Albion pulled away with the final four points to take it by the score 25-21.
Trine got their lone set victory of the evening in the third staving off defeat. Once again the set found both teams tied at 24 forcing extra points, but the Thunder quickly took the victory by the score of 26-24.
Keeping with the theme of the night, the fourth set found the teams tied late, this time at 25-25. Neither team was willing to leave the court easily with both trading points until they were tied again at 29. Finally, the Britons took two points in a row for the 31-29 victory and the 3-1 match victory.
Trine was led offensively in the contest by freshman Alyvia Sundheimer (Franklin / Franklin Community) who finished the night with a career-high 15 kills. Senior Shannon Scott (Vicksburg, Mich. / Vicksburg) and sophomore Madison Munger (Indianapolis / Franklin Central) both came in second with ten kills each.
A strong blocking effort led the way for the Thunder throughout the evening, with three members of the team finishing the match with six or more blocks. Scott led the way with eight total blocks in the contest. Senior Morgan Harris (Crown Point / Merrillville) came in second with seven blocks with sophomore Sarah Toles (Kendallville / East Noble) right behind with six of her own.
Sophomore Jacqueline Baughman (Lake Orion, Mich. / Lutheran Northwest) led the way for the team with 26 assists while senior Raven Hood (Monroe, Mich. / Airport) came in second with 19 of her own. Sophomore Lindsey DeCamp (New Haven / New Haven) led the team with 27 digs and Munger finished with 23.
The Thunder fall to 10-11 overall and 2-5 in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). With one match to play, Trine finds themselves in a four-way tie for fifth place. Two of those four teams will make the expanded MIAA Tournament.
The Thunder will look to get the inside track on one of those spots by picking up a victory in their final match of the regular season coming against St. Mary's on Saturday, Oct. 27. The match is set to start at 11 a.m.
