MEQUON, Wisc. – On the opening day of the CUW Invite, hosted by Concordia University Wisconsin, the Trine University men's volleyball team was defeated by the host school, 3-1. The loss makes Trine 1-3 in the 2023 season and Concordia Wisconsin remains undefeated at 3-0.
In the first set, the Thunder eased their way into a steady lead at 10-7 thanks to two kills each from sophomore Kevin Boncaro and junior Ted Hofmeister. A string of kills by Hofmeister, senior Dominic Saenz and freshman Johnson-Kuhao Ho'okano-Pelekai countered an offensive attack by the Falcons and kept Trine in front through the middle stages of the first. The lead stayed with the Thunder until a four-point run for Concordia Wisconsin that gave them the lead at 22-20. The only Falcon error of the set tied the score at 23, but CUW would record the final two points to go up 1-0.
Trine would answer in the second set with a 25-23 victory of their own. The Thunder rattled off five points in a row mid-set to claim a 13-7 advantage and the lead would be extended all the way to eight at 23-15 thanks to a kill by Hofmeister. Concordia Wisconsin battled back and got all the way to within one with an 8-1 scoring run in the midst of both timeouts being used by head coach Will Dowdy. Junior Matt Stillman put the set away with a kill and end the Falcon rally.
The score in the third set would look no different at 25-23, but it would be the home team taking the two-sets-to-one edge. Early in the set, Trine was able to take the lead. Freshman DJ Vinson and Ho'okano-Pelekai each had service aces to take a 12-10 lead, but the Falcons were able to turn the tables in the third with a four-point run that put Concordia Wisconsin ahead 17-15. The lead would remain with CUW until an ace by Boncaro made it 22-22. Three of the final four points belonged to the Falcons in the loss.
The decisive set four had the same score once again at 25-23 in favor of Concordia Wisconsin. Back-to-back kills by Saenz helped get Trine ahead 7-4, but eight of the next nine points in favor of the Falcons made it 12-8. That advantage for the home team would be extended to 17-11 later on. A scoring run of six points out of seven for the Thunder brought Trine all the way back to within one, and a combined block by Stillman and Boncaro got the set back to even at 20 apiece. After trading points to get to 23-23, a pair of miscues by the Thunder allowed CUW to secure the set and match win.
In total, Trine had 50 kills and 55 digs. Hofmeister and Boncaro led the way offensively with 17 and 15 kills, respectively. Boncaro was credited with 15 digs, while junior Hunter Haas dug out 11 opposing attacks. Junior Sam Bhandal had 23 assists to pace the team.
The CUW Invite continues tomorrow afternoon when Trine faces the Milwaukee School of Engineering at 11 a.m. EST and the University of Santa Cruz at 5 p.m. EST.