NOTRE DAME, Ind. - It was a hard fought win for the Trine University volleyball team as they earned a much needed victory over St. Mary's College 3-1 (27-25, 25-17, 25-27, 25-21). The Thunder are now 14-10 on the year and 8-5 in the conference.

The opening set saw both teams battle from behind throughout the match. The Thunder took the initial lead before the Belles would rally to take their own lead. Trine would then score six points in a row to take an 11-8 lead. The Belles would rally back notching a five point rally to regain the lead. The Thunder looked as if they had the set put away when they again scored a six point rally to lead 17-12. However, St. Mary's would again rally to tie the game at 22 all. Both teams traded points and with the game tied 24-24, freshman Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) came up with a big kill for the Thunder, helping them to take the set.

Set number two was all Thunder from the start as Trine scored six of the first 10 points. Leading 6-4, the Thunder would catch fire as they scored eight straight points to lead by 10. The Belles slowly tried to get back into the game, including scoring six straight near the end of the set, but the Trine lead was too much to overcome.

The third set appeared to be all St. Mary's at the start, as the Belles led early 5-1. Trine would have to battle back, as they scored six straight points. Both sides would then trade several points, but the Thunder began to gradually pull away. Trine would grow their lead to as much as seven at 21-14, but the Belles refused to go quietly. Trine would get match point at 25-24, but a ball handling error and back-to-back attack errors would give the Belles the set.

St. Mary's seemed the have the upper hand to start the fourth set, but the Thunder would have no part of that. After the Belles scored the first three points, Trine would score 10 of the next 12 points. St. Mary's would attempt yet another comeback, but it would fall short as the Thunder refused to let them take another set. Junior Betsy Irwin (Athens, Ohio/Alexander) put an exclamation point on the match by send the Thunder home with the game-winning kill.

Irwin led the Thunder with 17 kills while hitting a game-high .424. Irwin also added in a game-high five blocks (three solo). Freshman Melanie Troyer (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Memorial) played outstanding offense and defense all night as she finished with her sixth double-double of the season making 13 kills and 18 digs. Fellow freshman Jordan Bell (Coldwater, Mich./Bronson) narrowly missed her first career double-double as she finished her night with 11 kills and nine digs. Bell also added in a game-high four aces. Searles also had a solid all-round game finished with seven kills and six digs.

Junior Sarah Radekin (Athens, Ohio/Alexander) topped the 40 assist plateau for the seventh time this season as she finished the night with 46 assists. Sophomore Darcy Crabtree (Gaston, Ind./Wes-Del) played stellar defensively as she finished her night with a game-high 23 digs.

Trine will head back out on the road for an important match at Kalamazoo on October 22 for an 11:00 a.m. match.