ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine University men's volleyball team was defeated by Olivet (Mich.) College, 3-2, in a Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League match at Hershey Hall in Angola, Ind.
Olivet (2-13, 1-4 MCVL) jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first set which later grew to a 14-3 advantage and never looked back. The Comets went on to lead by as many as 14 points in the set en route to crusing to a 25-13 victory to take a 1-0 match lead.
Trine (6-19, 0-5 MCVL) never trailed in the second set despite both teams battling to a tie on four occasions that included a 4-4 score after a Thunder error. A kill by freshman Jackson Condrey (Spokane, Wash./Ferris) then gave the Thunder the lead for good and slowly began to pull away. Leading by two points, 11-9, Trine ended the set by outscoring Olivet, 15-4, to post a final score of, 25-13, and evened the overall match at 1-1.
Trine rallied from as many as six points down in the third set that began with a 7-2 scoring run that put the Thunder back to within a point, 20-19. Freshman Eric Santiago-Garcia (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Glen Ridge) had a pair of kills during the run to go along with a service ace. Trine eventually came back to even the set at, 22-22, following an Olivet error, but the Comets later put themselves in the driver's seat with a 24-23 advantage. Condrey and freshman Kyle Dixon (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) recorded blocks on the next two points for the Thunder to put Trine out in front, 25-24. The set then ended with an Olivet error, giving Trine the 26-24 win and a 2-1 match lead.
In the fourth set, Trine led by three points, 7-4, following a kill by freshman Luke Maier (Colorado Springs, Colo./Doherty). Olivet then went on a 13-0 run to take control and lead by 10 points, 17-7. The Thunder had to play catch-up the rest of the way and got to within three points, 19-16, after an error by the Comets. But that was as close as Trine got as Olivet regained control and went on to win by the final of 25-18.
Trine maintained a slim two-point advantage early in the fifth and deciding set, 5-3, when Olivet rattled off four straight points to move ahead, 7-5. Trine worked the score back to a tie several times, and then had a 14-13 edge thanks to a kill by Santiago-Garcia. The two teams then swapped leads and battled to a 15-15 tie where Olivet got the final two points it needed on a kill, followed by a Trine offensive error to take the set, 17-15, and win the match by a final of 3-2.
Santiago-Garcia finished as the lone Thunder player to record double-digits in kills with a match-high 14. Dixon followed with eight kills and freshman Dan Boren (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) added seven kills.
Junior Hunter Monday (Beech Grove, Ind./Lutheran) led both teams in set assists with 40. The duo of Santiago-Garcia and Boren led the Thunder in aces with two each.
Dixon and freshman Raviel Winters (Elwood, Ill./Joilet Central) both had nine digs to lead Trine. Santiago-Garcia was third with eight digs. Boren had a team-high five total blocks (one solo and four assists) and Monday and Condrey both had four total blocks.
Trine will travel to St. Louis, Mo. to take on Fontbonne (Mo.) University on Friday, Mar. 29 in a MCVL contest. The match is set to begin at 8 p.m. EST.
