FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Trine University women's volleyball team posted a 2-1 record at the Franklin College Invitational this weekend. The Thunder split on day one with a four set loss to Wheaton (Ill.) and a sweep of Kuyper College. Trine then took down hosts Franklin in a five set thriller on Saturday.
Elli Baker drilled 23 kills in the five set win.
In match one, Trine took the first set from Wheaton 25-17 before falling in straight sets from there. The Thunder led early in the set and never looked back, six players recorded a kill in the set.
Julia Maggio led with three kills in the set. Set two saw 10 ties and five lead changes, the final tie coming at 20-all. Wheaton scored five of the next six for the win. Set three was a set of runs, Wheaton had a run of 8-2 and Trine had a 12-2 run to take the lead at 17-15. Trine led 23-22 but Wheaton scored the final three. Wheaton led for nearly all of set four and took the match.
The Thunder swept Kuyper in match two and limited the Cougars to a -.043 hitting percentage, while hitting .309 themselves.
Adison Hilderbrand and
Reese Steenwyk led with seven kills. The Cougars took a 10-9 lead but Trine answered with a 12-3 run to put the set in hand. The Thunder would not allow the Cougars to get close in set two, jumping out to an early 5-0 lead with two aces from
Ashley Hagelskamp.
Cali Stevons added two aces and
Anna Zellers notched another as the Thunder rolled to a 25-15 win. The Cougars kept it interesting in set three leading early and often, ultimately earning a 19-16 lead. Hagelskamp punched three kills and Hildebrand added a pair and Trine closed on a 9-2 run for the sweep.
Saturday's match was an offensive slugfest. Trine tallied 59 kills on .231 hitting, Franklin had 54 kills on .286 hitting. Baker erupted for 23 kills and hit .404. Franklin took set one, Trine the next two, then the teams split sets four and five with the Thunder claiming set five.
Trine quickly established a 7-2 lead in the first set. Kills from
Addyson Kuzma,
Emmaline Leatherman,
Julia Maggio, and Baker kept the Thunder in the lead, a 7-1 run would erase the Thunder advantage and give set one to the Grizzlies. Trine needed an extra set point to take set two 26-24, Baker got rolling as Trine preserved a 17-12 lead.
Anna Zellers notched a pair of aces in the set.
Trine scored 17 of 25 points via kill in set three while hitting .412. Baker notched seven more kills in the set and Trine led wire to wire. Franklin returned the favor in set four taking a 10-4 lead and never looking back.
Baker opened set five with a kill and then a pair of aces to help the Thunder to a 5-1 lead. Franklin rallied back to tie the set at 7. Trine retook the lead as the teams switched sides. Trine scored five straight points by kill from four different players to grab a 14-13 lead. Franklin had a bad set to give Trine the hard fought victory.
The Thunder will host Bluffton University on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. inside Hershey Hall.
