GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - It was the toughest fight they have been in all season as the Trine University volleyball team gave it all they had against the undefeated, unanimous number one team in the country Calvin College, falling in the MIAA tournament 3-0 (25-15, 28-26, 25-14). The Thunder end their season 15-13.

“I am so very proud of the way our girls played tonight,” coach Jamie Wozniak said. “They have come so far this season and they played their hearts out tonight. I couldn't have asked for anything more from them.”

Trine gave it their all in the first set as they trade point back-and-forth to start the set. The Thunder tied the score at 10-10, but the top ranked team in the nation broke the set open as they tallied 12 of the next 15 points to lead 22-12. Trine was finally able to break the point streak of the Knights, but it was too late as Calvin too set one.

The Thunder came out looking to get some fire going as they started set number two keeping pace with the Knights. Trine trailed early, but battled back to take a 6-5 lead. Both sides traded points as Trine gained momentum scoring four straight points to lead 12-8. Trine kept the momentum going as they scored three straight points as their lead grew to six at 16-10. Yet once again, Calvin does what they always do, scoring in bunches as they tallied five straight points to pull within one. Trine would lead by four at 23-19, but the Knights would again fight their way back to tie it 23-23. Calvin had set point but junior Betsy Irwin (Athens, Ohio/Alexander) came up with two huge kills to give the Thunder set point. An attack error by the Thunder, a Calvin block and an ace gave Calvin the hard fought second set.

It looked like the Thunder were going to keep pace with the Knights in the third set as they traded points early on as the set was tied 8-8. Calvin did it again and won consecutive points to take a 14-9 lead. Trine was able to break the Knights serve, but they would get it right back and again score consecutive points to push their lead to 20-10. Calvin would finish of the set by scoring four of the final five points to take the match.

Irwin led all players with a game-high 12 kills and a team-high three blocks. Freshman Jordan Bell (Coldwater, Mich./Bronson) had an outstanding match hitting .467 with eight kills. Fellow freshman Melanie Troyer (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Memorial) finished the night with six kills and nine digs.

The Thunder changed their game plan trying to throw off Calvin as they ran a 6-2 offense for the first time this season. Freshman Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) led the way with 15 assists to go along with eight digs and four kills. Junior Sarah Radekin (Athens, Ohio/Alexander) added in 13 assists and six digs. Senior Andrea DiRuzza (Alexandria, Ind./Alexandria Monroe) filled in at libero for Darcy Crabtree who was injured during warm-ups and finished with a team-high 10 digs.

The Thunder defense did a good job of limiting All-American Rebecca Kamp to just eight kills while hitting just .106. The difference in the game was the attacking accuracy as the Thunder had 23 attack errors compared to just nine for the Knights.

The Thunder end their season with their first winning record since 1999 and just the second in the past 18 years. Trine finished the regular season fourth in the MIAA, equaling their best finish.