ANGOLA, Ind. -- The Trine University women's volleyball team needed all five sets but came away with a season-opening win over Huntington University.
The Thunder showed some rust in the first set falling behind 6-1 early and never claiming a lead, the Foresters took the set 25-20.
Trine began to stir in the second set trading points through the early points before building a 13-9 lead. They would continue to build on that start pulling ahead to 23-15 in the latter portion of the game before coming up with the 25-18 win.
The team finally scored first in the third game, taking the first two points before trading points with Huntington to a 9-8 lead. The Thunder then went on a 9-2 run to take an 18-10 lead. The majority of the streak came behind strong service from sophomore Joslynn Battle (Lowell, Mich. / Lowell). The Thunder would hold off a few late streaks from Huntington and walk away with a 25-19 win.
The rust returned for the fourth game, as Trine was caught flatfooted and fell behind 9-2 to begin the set. They never found their rhythm and lost handily 25-13.
They came storming back in the deciding game, starting with a 6-1 lead behind strong service from senior Sarah Toles (Kendallville, Ind. / East Noble). Toles would then finish off the game and the match with the final kill for the 15-10 win.
Senior Madison Munger (Indianapolis, Ind. / Franklin Central) led the way offensively for the team with 21 kills on a .288 hitting percentage, while also adding 20 digs in the contest. Toles accounted for most of the rest of the offense with 19 kills on a .261 hitting percentage.
Battle added 48 assists in the contest along with two service aces. Sophomore Breanna Small (Indianapolis, Ind. / Beech Grove) led the team with four total blocks.