ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's volleyball team made quick work of visitors to Angola, the Wisconsin Lutheran College Warriors on Saturday night, 3-0.
The Thunder (8-10) will be in conference play for the remainder of the season after sweeping the Warriors (0-16). Trine secured a new program record with a .507 hitting percentage as a team.
Ethan Howard [South Whitley, Ind. / Witko] was able to set up Kevin Boncaro [Rochester, N.Y. / Rush Henrietta], Ted Hofmeister [Powell, Ohio / Saint Charles] and Matt Stillman [Mokena, Ill. / Lincoln Way Central] as Trine jumped ahead 4-0 in the first set. Landon Barrow [Noblesville, Ind. / Noblesville] and Kyle Dixon [Lockport, Ill. / Lockport Township] joined in on the scoring with kills in the midst of a 7-0 run to claim a 13-3 advantage. 12 of the final 15 points of the set went the way of the Thunder, led by Boncaro and Dixon with four kills each, to take a 25-8 set victory.
A long 15-point scoring run by Trine gave them a commanding set two lead 15-1. Stillman and Nate Unsicker [Woodridge, Ill. / Downers Grove South] each had a service ace in the spree. Nick Woolley [Plainfield, Ill. / Plainfield North] and Carter Steffgen [Lockport, Ill. / Lockport Township] notched kills as the team went up 19-2. Eric Santiago-Garcia [Dorado, Puerto Rico / Glen Ridge] and Sam Buckingham [Saginaw, Mich. / Nouvel Catholic Central] collected a combined five kills in the 25-6 win.
The Thunder overcame a slow start in the third set, but evened the set at four thanks to an ace by Buckingham. Daniel Boren [Fort Wayne, Ind. / Homestead] and Ethan McLenon [Overland Park, Kans. / Saint James Academy] entered the match and collected five kills in a 9-0 run.
Sam Bhandal [Marysville, Wash. / Marysville] and Jonah Lockard [Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton North] tallied aces mid-set to keep momentum with the home squad. Bryan Maida [Lockport, Ill. / Lockport Township] and Ryan McDonald [New Lenox, Ill. / Lincoln Way West] pushed the ace total to 10 for the game late in the 25-9 third set rout.
Boncaro and Barrow had seven and six kills to pace the Trine offense. Boncaro and Hunter Haas [Cincinnati, Ohio / Bishop Moeller] had five digs each defensively. Howard tallied a team-high 24 assists.
The Thunder return to Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) play on Saturday, March 19 at Fontbonne University. That match will begin at 1 pm.
