WAYNE, N.J. – The Trine University women's volleyball team had another tough day at the Kean/William Paterson Invitational, falling in their two matches 3-0. The opened the day against William Paterson University before finishing their trip to New Jersey against Smith College.
 
The match against William Paterson was the first meeting between the programs. The Pioneers served as hosts for Trine's second day of action at the invitational. Anna Zellers led the way in the loss, posting 12 digs, eight assists, and two aces for the Thunder. Julia Maggio led the offense with seven kills.
 
Zellers opened the match with an ace, giving Trine their only lead of set one. WPU won the set 25-16. The Thunder faired better in set two with a Maggio kill and another ace from Zellers sparking a 7-1 run that gave Trine a 14-12 advantage. Trine led 22-21 before the Pioneers closed out the set 4-0. WPU raced out to a 16-4 lead in set three and never allowed Trine a chance to rally back, taking the match in three sets.
 
In the second match of the day was another first time contest for the Thunder, this time coming against the Bears of Smith. The stat leaders were largely unchanged with Zellers once again leading the way, this time with six digs and 17 assists. Maggio once again paced the offense with 10 kills, Elli Baker came in with eight and Emmaline Leatherman had seven.
 
Smith took the first two points of the match, but the Thunder battled in the opening part of the first set. The team held a 6-4 lead  after a 6-2 run. They traded points to keep the lead at 7-5. A long run by the Bears ended the threat and the opposition pulled away for a 25-18 victory. The early success was shorter lived in the second set, with Smith pulling away after a 3-3 tie. Trine put together a streak of six straight points during a late service by Zellers, cutting the deficit to 21-18, but they got no closer in the 25-19 set.
 
Set three was the closest of the match eventually ending in just a 25-23 tally in favor of Smith. Things looked grim with the Bears taking the first three points, but the Thunder battled in the middle portion of the set, eventually building an 11-8 lead of their own. They held an 18-16 lead and then a 20-17 lead later on. The set ended in an 8-3 run by Smith.
 
Trine is 0-4 after the weekend of competition. They will head to the DePauw Invitational for their next matches. The first of the tournament is scheduled for Friday, September 5. The Thunder will face Greenville University at 5 p.m. They are set to face Depauw University and Dominican (Ill.) University on Saturday.