ADRIAN, MICH.  --  The Trine University men's volleyball team won both matches against Adrian (Mich.) College in a pair of Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League matches in Adrian, Mich.

In the first match, Trine (4-0, 4-0 MCVL) junior Kyle Dixon (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) and sophomore Dominic Saenz (Wall Twp., N.J./Wall) led the offensive attack with 11 and 10 kills, respectively.  Senior Hunter Monday (Beech Grove, Ind./Lutheran) recorded 30 set assists and also led the team in digs with 13.  

At the net, Dixon, sophomore Parker Beale (Noblesville, Ind./Fishers) and junior Dan Boren (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) had a team-high two blocks each.

Trine never trailed in the first set and jumped out to an early 3-0 lead.  Adrian (2-3, 2-2 MCVL) evened the score on two occasions, including a 7-7 tie when the Thunder put a little distance between them and the Bulldogs as kills by freshman Matt Stillman (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln Way Central) and Saenz, followed by an ace by Stillman, gave Trine a three-point advantage, 10-7.  Trine went on to lead by as many as four points multiple times, but Adrian looked to rally late and worked its way back to a 20-20 tie.  After the teams swapped points to even the score at 21-21, Trine got three straight points to grab control, 24-21.  Two points later, Dixon gave the Thunder the win on a kill and a one-set overall match lead with a final score of 25-22.

In game two, Trine jumped out to a four-point lead, 9-5, but would later trail by two points, 15-13.  The Thunder then went on a 6-1 scoring run that began with a kill by Saens and ended in an Adrian error to make the score 19-16 in favor of Trine.  The Thunder never trailed again in the set, but the Bulldogs made things interesting down the stretch and got to within a point, 24-23, but a kill by Beale sealed the victory for Trine and gave the visitors a commanding 2-0 match advantage.

Adrian led, 4-1, to start set number three.  Trine came back to even the game and the two teams then went back-and-forth until the Thunder took control later in the set thanks to a 7-1 run to take a 20-14 lead.  Trine went on to lead by as many as eight points multiple times including the final score of 25-17 and take a 3-0 match victory.

The two teams played a highly competive match in the nightcap with Trine coming away by a final of 3-2 with the scores of 25-17, 22-25, 25-22, 15-25 and 15-13.  In the first set, the difference in the game came with Adrian leading by two points, 11-9, when a kill by Stillman started a streak of 10 straight points en route to Trine having a 19-11 advantage.  The Bulldogs wouldn't threaten the rest of the way as an ace by freshman Nate Unsicker (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South) sealed the victory by a final of 25-17.

Adrian came out on top in the second set, to even the match at 1-1 and then Trine pulled away in game number three with both teams tied at 7-7.  An error by Adrian, followed by a kill by Saenz, put the Thunder ahead by two points and never trailed in the set again.  The Bulldogs fought back to tie the set late at 21-21, but back-to-back points for Trine gave the Thunder the advantage they needed to come away with a 25-22 victory and a 2-1 match lead.

The Bulldogs posted an impressive win in the fourth game to even the match again to require a fifth and deciding set.  Trine scored the first four points of the fifth set which later increased to 6-1.  Adrian later got back to within a point, 7-6, when a kill by Boren and consecutive Bulldog errors extended the Trine lead to four points, 10-6.  Adrian made a final push late and pulled to within a point several times down the stretch, including a 14-13 score.  An ensuing error by the home squad ended the set and gave Trine the winning point for a final of 15-13 and the 3-2 match victory.

Beale led Trine in kills in the second match with 12.  Stillman was second with nine kills and Dixon added eight kills.  Monday tallied 34 set assists to lead Trine and was also one of four players in double figures in digs with 11.  

Saenz had a team-best 17 digs, followed by the duo of Beale and freshman Hunter Haas (Cincinnati, Ohio/Bishop Moeller) with 12 digs.  Stillman led the team in blocks with five (five assists) and Saenz was second with four blocks (four assists).  Dixon and Boren rounded out the leaders with three blocks each.

Trine is scheduled to host Mount St. Joseph (Ohio) University on Saturday, Feb. 13 at Hershey Hall in a pair of MCVL matches.  The first match is set to start at 1 p.m.