Sept. 17, 2008

Final Stats

ADRIAN, Mich. - The AC volleyball squad got a first set win but did not win another set in a surprising 3-1 loss to Trine on Wednesday. The Thunder entered the match with a 3-9 overall record and an 0-4 mark in the MIAA. Adrian has dropped three straight and stands at 6-5 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

Things looked fine at the outset with Adrian winning the first set by a score of 25-21. The Bulldogs hit .216 with 13 kills in the opening set. Adrian and Trine were tied at 15-15 in the first set before Adrian won four of the next five points to take the lead and not give it up.

Trine won the second set by the score of 25-23 having taken the lead at 17-16 after a series of four straight points by the Thunder with Andrea DiRuzza serving. Adrian got within 24-23 on a service ace by Laura Scherer but Sallie Richardson ended the set with a kill.

Both teams kept it very close in the third set with nine ties before Trine captured a late rally to win 27-25. Adrian had a 13-10 lead after a Natalie Niblock kill but dropped the next five points to give the Thunder a two-point lead. Adrian had a chance to close out the third set but Mary Rinke hit a serve into the net to tie things at 24-24. With the set knotted at 25-25 it was Richardson with back-to-back kills to give Trine a 2-1 lead.

AC came out a little flat in the fourth set and trailed 6-1 before a timeout. Adrian responded by getting the next two points but did not have a lead in the final set. The closest Adrian would get was at 9-7 after an attack error by Abby Rothballer. Rothballer had the final kill to give the Thunder a 25-22 win.

The Bulldogs were led by Jenny Carlson with 14 kills and a .286 attack percentage. She also had three digs and two block assists. Niblock had a fine match with seven kills in 12 attacks for a .583 percentage and also had 37 assists and 13 digs for a double-double. Holly Pellegrin added nine kills and seven block assists.

Richardson was a handful with 31 kills and a .429 attack percentage. She also had 16 digs and two block assists. Rothballer added 10 kills as Trine hit .189 for the match. AC hit .156 and had 48 total kills.