ANGOLA, Ind. – The longest win streak in program history was extended to 10 matches in a row on Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 victory against Fontbonne University. The Thunder are now 13-9 overall and begin the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) campaign at 4-0. Trine is now alone in first place in the MCVL standings after a loss by Baldwin Wallace University. The Griffins of Fontbonne are 12-9 and 2-2 in league play.
Trine dominated set number one thanks to a .259 hitting percentage. A solo block from Sam Buckingham made it 11-6 and forced a timeout by Fontbonne to open the first. An ace by Ted Hofmeister kept the scoring run going as the Griffins used their second timeout at 18-12 after Sam Bhandal found Hofmeister for a kill. A pair of kills from Kevin Boncaro helped seal the first set for the home team, 25-17.
A 9-0 scoring run to begin the second set for Fontbonne allowed them to pull away to a decisive 25-14 set win. The Thunder scored six points out of eight to mount a late rally, but it was not enough to overcome a deficit of 22-8 at the time. It was both the best hitting set of the match by the Griffins and the worst of the afternoon for Trine.
With the match hanging in the balance, the Thunder came out hot in the third and back-to-back kills by Johnson-Kuhao Ho'okano-Pelekai gave Trine a 5-1 advantage. Fontbonne came close, but was never able to regain a lead in the set after scoring the first point in the third. The trio of H'okano-Pelekai, Hofmeister and Boncaro netted all 14 kills for the team in a 25-21 set three win. An unassisted block by Matt Stillman put the Thunder ahead two sets to one.
Another strong start in the fourth set buried the visitors as Trine went on to win 25-18. After getting ahead 6-2, the Thunder remained in front for the duration of the set. Trine was able to overcome several blocks at the net from Griffin defenders with a match-high 78% on sideouts. The Thunder had 24 digs in the fourth, including seven from Bhandal and six from Boncaro and four from Hunter Haas.
In total, three student-athletes had double-figure kills, led by Boncaro with 13. Hofmeister and Ho'okano-Pelekai chipped in with 12 and 10 apiece. Bhandal was responsible for 42 assists on the afternoon and had a couple of kills himself. Boncaro's team-high 18 digs is also a career-high for the sophomore. Haas and Bhandal had 12 digs each. Stillman was involved in three of the team's seven blocks.
The final four matches of the regular season will be contested on the road, beginning with Wittenberg University on Friday, March 31. That match begins at 7 p.m.
