ADRIAN, Mich. - The volleyball team dropped their home opener on Saturday (Sept. 10) against rival Trine University in a hotly-contested matchup. The Bulldogs fell by the scores of 20-25, 25-27, 25-23 and 22-25.

Adrian (1-6, 1-2 MIAA) played a night game last evening at Alma and were right back on the court at 11:00 AM and played sluggishly in the first set falling behind 11-6 after Trine rattled off five straight points on the serving prowess of Jordan Bell. Bell's service ace led to an Adrian timeout with the Bulldogs down five. Adrian clawed back to within a point at 12-11 but Trine once again scored four straight points to lead 16-11.

In the second set, Adrian seemed to be in control with a 17-10 lead as Roxanne Duran served eight straight points and recorded three of her season-high seven service aces. The Bulldogs led 21-13 but Trine would not go away and scored eight straight points themselves off the serve of Carlee Felber. Felber had two aces and Bell had two kills. The set was tied at 25-25 after a service error by Betsy Irwin, but the Thunder got a kill from Melanie Troyer and a bad set by Kristy DeClercq gave Trine a 27-25 edge and a 2-0 lead.

Adrian got one set in the third falling behind 10-1 early and rallying late. Duran again was the catalyst behind the service line as she served for six straight points turning a 12-6 deficit into a 12-12 tie. The teams were tied at 20-20 and again at 23-23 when Katie Weber recorded a kill and Carlynne Searles had an attack error to give AC a 25-23 advantage.

Trine closed out the match in the fourth set with a 25-22 win. Adrian scored the first three points of the set and led until 7-7. Adrian led 13-12 but lost the lead as Darcy Crabtree served five straight points. The teams were tied 22-22 as the Thunder scored the last three points of the match. Sarah Radekin had an ace followed by an attack error by Andrea Phillips and a kill by Troyer.

Duran had a great all-around match with 12 kills, 13 digs and seven aces. Kristi Walker led the Bulldogs with 24 digs and also had two aces and two kills. Joanna Slisinger and Elise Mindick each had eight assists. Adrian hit .076 for the match with a total of 37 kills.