Oct. 28 – HOUGHTON, N.Y. – The Hiram College volleyball program opened their final weekend of the regular season by earning a pair of victories at the Houghton College tournament on Friday evening. The Terriers first defeated the host Highlanders by a 3-0 final, before taking down Cortland State, 3-1.

The victory over Houghton improved the Terrier's record to 16-7, marking the 11^th straight-set sweep by Hiram over an opponent this season. It also was the second in a row for the Terriers, who recently swept Allegheny on Wednesday night.

Hiram defeated the hosts by taking each individual set by scores of 25-16. The Terriers controlled the matchup, never trailing in any set and seeing just four ties throughout.

In the opening set, the Terriers jumped out to an 11-4 advantage, getting one kill from six different players in the run. Jessica Fontana was the main catalyst totaling three kills through the first half of the set.

The Highlanders would pull as close as four (16-12) but the Terriers held the advantage throughout, posting the 25-16, set one victory.

Set two played close through the first half, with Hiram holding a 14-13 lead midway through the set. From there, a 6-2 Terrier run, including a service ace by Laura Kelly, put Hiram in the driver seat at 20-15.

Overall, Hiram outscored the Highlanders 11-3 to end the set 25-16. Fontana added two more kills in the final five points, giving her six total through two sets.

In the third and final set, Hiram would gain control early, running out to a 9-4 lead. They would then go on to finish off Houghton, taking the third set by the same score as the first two.

Hiram brought their offensive firepower in the match, hitting .297 throughout. Senior Marissa Jay led the way with 17 kills, while hitting .405. Fontana also hit well, posting a .316 percentage while totaling eight kills. Both Laura Kelly and Grace Wilson each posted nine, while setter Claire Maier dished out 41 assists.

Jay continued her offensive firepower in the victory over Cortland State as the Terriers captured the four-set match by scores of 25-15, 25-18, 25-27, 25-20.

Jay hit a gaudy .500 in the win, totaling 25 kills while committing just two errors in 46 total attempts. Her combined 42 kills now gives her a new career high for a season with 429. The total is the fourth-most in school history and adds to her career total which remains second in school history (1,390).

Other offensive leaders in the win over Cortland State included Wilson and Fontana. Wilson posted 12 kills in the win, while Fontana added eight. Maier totaled seven kills to go along with 47 assists in the four-set victory.

Defensively, Megan Schaefer tallied 20 digs, while Laura Kelly posted 21. Other double-digit performances were put in by Madison Fortune (13) and Jay (14).

Hiram will wrap up both the Houghton Tournament and the regular season with a pair of matches on Saturday afternoon. The Terriers will first take on Utica at 11 a.m. before competing against Marywood at 1 p.m.