LISLE, Ill. – The Trine University men's volleyball squad made the trip to Lisle, Illinois to compete in a tri-match at Benedictine University on Saturday afternoon. The Thunder went 1-1 on the day with a victory over Wabash College, 3-1 and a loss to the host Eagles of Benedictine University in straight sets. Trine has a 1-2 record this season, while Wabash completes the day at 2-4 and Benedictine 4-1.
TRINE vs WABASH RECAP:
The Thunder topped the Little Giants in a non-league match to start the day. Kevin Boncaro had 19 of the team's 50 kills in this one, while Dominic Saenz led the team with 22 assists and Hunter Haas had 11 digs on defense. Carter Steffgen served a team-high three aces and Boncaro had three solo blocks.
Johnson-Kuhao Ho'okano-Pelekai scored the first point of the day with a kill for the Thunder and the team got ahead in the neutral site contest 9-3 after a kill by Sam Buckingham. Wabash fought back from a four-point deficit twice before Trine delivered the final blow in the first. The Thunder rattled off five straight points, highlighted by blocks from Matt Stillman and Buckingham to go up 24-18 and Sam Bhandal found Boncaro for the 25-21 set win.
After Trine took an early lead in the second, it would be the Little Giants who took advantage of a late run to even the match at one with a 25-22 set two victory. Wabash limited their errors to only four in the set.
The third would be all Thunder in a lopsided 25-10 set win. Wabash had four kills to nine errors in the set, while Trine hit a match-high .292 with 11 kills. A massive 10-0 run based mostly in opponent errors put the Thunder ahead 20-7 and Ethan McLenon finished off the third with a kill.
Trine had to rally from seven down in the fourth set, but were successful in putting the match to bed at 27-25. An 8-1 run put Wabash in front 17-10, but a 9-3 run fueled by the sophomore Boncaro got the team back to within one at 20-19. Facing set point, Steffgen got a kill and Landon Barrow served up an ace to tie the set at 24. A bad set followed by an ace from Boncaro sealed the deal for the Thunder.
TRINE vs BENEDICTINE RECAP:
The Benedictine Eagles topped Trine in three sets in the final match of the afternoon. After a struggle to start the first set, the Thunder played well in the second and third, but it was not enough to top the Eagles, who are receiving votes in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NCAA DIII Coaches' Poll.
Trine hit negative in the first set with five kills to nine assists en route to a 25-13 defeat. The visitors led 5-3, but an 11-1 scoring run for Benedictine gave them a lead that they could not overcome. The Eagles had five blocks during the scoring spurt.
A couple of aces by Ho'okano-Pelekai gave the Thunder a slight edge early in the second set, and a kill by Ted Hofmeister helped to put the team up 15-11, forcing the Eagle head coach into a timeout. The break would be effective in turning the tide in the set and a 6-2 run put things back to even at 17. Benedictine outscored Trine 2-1 late in the set to pull away 25-21, despite a quality effort.
The third set would be the most efficient for the Thunder with a .375 hitting percentage on 15 kills. The teams traded the lead throughout the third, but kills by Saenz, Boncaro and Hofmeister would keep Trine in it late. Boncaro's score tied the set up at 22, but three of the final four points in the match were converted by Benedictine to win 25-23.
Boncaro and Stillman led the way on offense with nine and eight kills, respectively, while Stillman had a hitting percentage of .727 (11 attempts). Saenz carried the load at the setter position with 26 of 31 assists. Haas had 10 digs from the back row.
Next weekend, the Thunder will travel to Concordia University-Wisconsin to compete in the CUW Invite on Friday, February 3 and Saturday, February 4.
