LAKE FOREST, Ill. – On day two of the Forester Invitational at Lake Forest College, the Trine University women's volleyball team lost a pair of matches 3-1.
Match number one on the day came against Lakeland University (2-1 overall) and the second game of the afternoon was a meeting with Illinois Institute of Technology (3-0 overall). The Thunder fall to 0-3 in 2022 thus far.
TRINE vs LAKELAND:
The teams were mostly even at the beginning of the first set, with Catherine Dobies registering a pair of kills to spark a quality outing. Cassidy Victor and Olivia Jolliffe carried the squad through the middle stages of the set, but Trine could not overcome a massive 6-1 scoring run to make it 23-16 Muskies. Lakeland would go on to take set one following a Thunder timeout 25-18.
The second set would also belong to the Muskies thanks to a 9-3 start. Francesca Queary had back-to-back service aces to provide a spark offensively for Trine, but it was not enough to make up for the 19-14 deficit they faced. Lakeland took the second by the same score as the first, 25-19.
Right away in set three, the Thunder showed no quit. Bethany Ulring started the set with a kill and Kailee Cornell served up an ace to propel a 13-3 scoring run. Meara Finnegan provided offense mid-set to hold off the attempted three-set sweep by the Muskies and a kill by Cheyenne Hill put the finishing touches on a 25-15 set victory.
Lakeland took advantage of mistakes on Trine's part in the fourth set and was able to complete the match with a 25-18 victory. The Thunder had a negative hitting percentage en route to the loss in the set.
In total, Trine surrendered 10 aces compared to just five on their side of the net. The Thunder blocked efficiently however, winning the battle at the net 10-2. Dobies was the only student-athlete in double figures with 12 kills in match one. Cornell distributed a team-high 15 assists and Kacie Van Kalker had 14 back-row digs.
TRINE vs ILLINOIS TECH:
Unfortunately, the negative hitting carried over into the backend of the doubleheader as well as the Thunder struggled in set one against the Scarlet Hawks. A negative hitting percentage allowed Illinois Tech to pull away 25-17 in set one.
Set two faired slightly better for Trine as Madison Dominick and Joslynn Battle provided a spark in the lineup. It was a 12-2 run for Illinois Tech late that allowed them to pull away for a 25-18 set two win.
The third looked like it was doomed from the start for the Thunder, but prevail they did after falling behind 15-5. Freshman Aleena Keh entered the mix and collected two big kills as Trine rattled off eight consecutive points. A solo block by Queary gave the team their first lead of the set at 22-21 and the Thunder went on to win 25-22.
Just as quickly as things were looking up for Trine at the end of the third set, they quickly turned back in favor of the Scarlet Hawks in the fourth set. Illinois Tech was dominant in a 25-14 match-clinching fourth set.
The box score saw Queary lead the way with 10 kills in match two and her counterpart Dominick had seven. The sophomore Queary had a kill percentage of .833 as 10 of her 12 attempts fell in Scarlet Hawk territory. Van Kalker and Jolliffe spread digs around evenly with seven apiece.
Trine takes on Saint Mary's next in a non-conference affair on Tuesday, September 6. First serve in Notre Dame, Indiana is set for 7 pm.
