By: Andrew Korba

ALLIANCE, Ohio -- The Hiram College volleyball team came up on the short end of a five set thriller, falling to No. 25-ranked Mount Union 23-25, 25-18, 16-25, 25-19, 14-16 on Tuesday evening.

The Terriers see their nine match winning streak snapped and are 11-4 on the season, while the Purple Raiders are 8-5.

Senior Lindsay Brewer (New Franklin, Ohio/Manchester) finished with 21 kills and a career-high 22 digs. Junior Marissa Jay (Parma, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) had 14 kills and senior Emily Mortimer (Mogadore, Ohio/Field) registered 10 kills.

Junior Laura Kelly (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson) had 21 digs and junior Claire Maier (Huntsville, Ohio/Indian Lake) dished out 53 assists and recorded 10 digs.

The Terriers were able to build a early 7-2 lead in Set 1, but Mount Union would battle back to tie things at 14-14.

Hiram was able to respond and a service ace from Kelly capped off a 7-1 run and gave the Terriers a 22-16 edge. But the Purple Raiders stormed back, capturing nine of the final 10 points of the set to win it 25-23.

The second set saw Hiram build another early lead, this time by a 9-3 count. The Terriers would hold as large as an 11 point lead in the set on their way to a 25-18 win.

In Set 3, Mount Union was able to jump out to a 14-7 lead. Hiram was able to get within five points at 16-11, but could get no closer, dropping the set 25-16.

Hiram jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the fourth set, before the Purple Raiders were able trim the lead to 13-12. But the Terriers would slowly pull away and won three of the final four points to take the set 25-19 and force and fifth and deciding frame.

The final set was tight throughout and saw Mount Union win three straight points to open up a 8-5 advantage. Hiram would battle back and knot the score at 10-10.

The teams would be tied three more teams, with a kill by Jay knotting the score at 14-14. But the Purple Raiders were able to win two straight points to clinch the set and match 16-14.

As a team, Hiram recorded 61 kills and hit .185 for the match, while Mount Union had 52 kills and a .147 hitting percentage.

The Terriers will return to action on Friday, when they open NCAC play at home against No. 8-ranked Wittenberg. Hiram will follow that with another conference contest on Saturday against DePauw (Ind.) at 1 p.m.