ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's volleyball team opened up Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) play on Wednesday evening versus Adrian College and came away with a three-set win. The victory gives the Thunder seven in a row and advance to 10-9 overall while the Bulldogs fall to 11-7 on the season and 0-2 in MCVL action.
Trine took an early lead in set one and remained in front for a majority of the first. The Thunder used nine service errors by Adrian and a diversified attack on offense directed by setter Sam Bhandal. The first set was not without adversity for Trine, as libero Hunter Haas was injured during play. A timeout by the Bulldogs allowed them to respond with two straight points with their backs against the wall, but ultimately the Thunder were able to secure the win 27-25 thanks to an ace by Johnson-Kuhao Ho'okano-Pelekai.
Things began to unravel for the visitors in the second set as Trine pulled away for a stout 25-13 victory. Adrian hit negative in the set with five kills and seven errors while the Thunder dominated with 12 kills compared to just three errors (.375). A massive 9-0 scoring run made the score 22-9 and was highlighted by two aces from Kevin Boncaro. Ted Hofmeister and Boncaro began to get hot offensively and finished the set with seven kills apiece.
In the third set, it was the Bulldogs who started strong and got ahead 6-1. It was not long before Trine knotted things back up as a solo block by Sam Buckingham made the score 10-10. Another block a few points later, this time by Hofmeister and Matt Stillman, put the score at 16-14 in favor of the home squad. Buckingham and Boncaro got in with a combined block at 19-17 that led to an Adrian timeout. The break was ineffective as the Thunder went on to score six of the next seven points in a 25-18 match-clinching win.
Boncaro's 12 kills and three aces paced the team on offense while Bhandal distributed a team-high 29 assists. He added three kills and six digs to his ledger as well. The team hit .293 for the match. In taking over for Haas as the libero, Bryan Maida contributed 11 digs, a new career-high.
MCVL action continues at home on Monday, March 20 at 7 p.m. against Olivet College.
