DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Trine University men's volleyball team competed in their first NCAA Tournament match on Friday against #5 Loras College. The Thunder gave the nationally-ranked Duhawks a handful, but ultimately were defeated in five sets, 3-2. Trine ends their best season since the program's relaunch at the Division III level at 19-7 while Loras advances to the Quarterfinal round at 25-1 overall.

The Thunder were efficient in staying with the Duhawks with a hitting percentage of .333 as a team. They were led by Matt Stillman, who had 15 kills on just 20 attacks for a .750 hitting percentage on the night. Stillman joined Ted Hofmeister (18) and Kevin Boncaro (17) with double-digit kill numbers. Nick Woolley distributed 54 assists while Hunter Haas led the back row at 16 digs.

An ace by Boncaro highlighted a five-point scoring run for Trine in set one, but it was Loras taking the first 25-21 after the Duhawks come back in the late stages. 16 kills in set two would help propel the Thunder to a 25-22 victory to even the match up at 1-1. Five of the final six points in the set went to Trine.

Loras claimed an 8-2 advantage in set three as the hosts went on to retake the lead with a 25-21 triumph in set three. 16 kills and just one error for the Thunder in set four would help the visitors to stay alive. Trine won 25-20 in the fourth set with Karl Both recording multiple kills early to put the Thunder ahead. A solo block from Stillman helped the team reach the fifth set.

Stillman was the target for the setter Woolley in set five and Johnson-Kuhao Ho'okano-Pelekai made the score 9-7 Thunder. Three straight points for the Duhawks gave the home team the advantage, but a kill by Hofmeister evened the set back up at 11-11. Facing match point, Woolley found Stillman for a kill to remain afloat and Hofmeister served up an ace to go 14-14. The final two points of the match went to Loras as they went on to secure the victory 16-14.

The senior class consisting of Haas, Woolley, Hofmeister, Stillman and Landon Barrow will own most career school records for the program upon graduation and led a team that broke the record for most wins in a single season in 2024.