ANGOLA, Ind. – It was a banner night for the Trine University men's volleyball team on Friday when the team defeated the University of Mount Union for their eleventh consecutive win and fourth in a row inside the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL). Trine won the match 3-1 and needed extra points to fend off the Purple Raiders in the fourth set.
The Thunder are now 14-4 overall following the victory while Mount Union is 9-7 overall. Trine is 4-0 in league play while their opponents drop to 3-2.
The win came whilst rewriting the existing record book for the NCAA Division III era. The team had 65 kills and assists in four sets, a new school record in both categories for most in a single match. Senior outside hitter Ted Hofmeister is now the sole record holder for most kills in a match with 27 on the evening. His setter senior Nick Woolley had 58 assists as well, a new high mark for the team.
Despite having just nine active players, the Purple Raiders were a pesky bunch. They remained close in the first set, but a four-point scoring run by the Thunder put them up 20-14 and forced their opponents into a timeout. A block by Kevin Boncaro and Karl Both wrapped up the 25-21 victory in the set.
Mount Union took an early lead in set number two. Trine would not get back to even until 21-21. Four of the final six points in the second belonged to the Purple Raiders as they escaped with the win to even the match at one set apiece, 25-23.
Three kills to start the third by Johnson-Kuhao Ho'okano-Pelekai, Hofmeister and Woolley allowed the team to trickle out to a three-point lead, one that they would not relinquish for the rest of the set. The Thunder overcame a late rally by Mount Union to secure the 25-21 set win behind a match-high .359 hitting percentage with 17 kills and three errors.
To finish the match, Trine needed extra points in a 29-27 fourth set victory. Matt Stillman and Hofmeister would throw down kills for the final two points of the evening after the teams were tied at 27, going back-and-forth in the closing stages. The Thunder had to overcome a 21-kill effort by the Purple Raiders in the final frame.
Along with Hofmeister's 27 kills, Boncaro had 15 and Ho'okano-Pelekai, 12. Hunter Haas led the team with 15 digs, while Hofmeister and Boncaro both had double-doubles with 14 digs each. Boncaro was also involved in four blocks (one solo).
Trine will battle Baldwin Wallace University for second place in the MCVL on Saturday, March 23 beginning at 5 p.m. inside Hershey Hall.
