By: Abbey Lipcsik

GREENCASTLE, Indiana -- The Terriers had 41 kills in the match, but Hiram dropped a 4-set loss against DePauw (Ind.) on Sunday afternoon. The final scores of each set were 15-25, 25-20, 13-25 and 18-25.

The Terriers fall to a 9-4, 0-2 NCAC record, while the Tigers improve to 12-3, 2-0 NCAC.    

Senior Marissa Jay (Parma, Ohio/ Padua Franciscan) led Hiram's offense, recording 15 kills and a .048 hitting percentage in the match. Junior Grace Wilson (Chagrin Falls, Chagrin Falls) added 10 kills and senior Laura Kelly (Massilon, Ohio/ Jackson) chipped in six. 

Senior Claire Maier (Huntsville, Ohio / Indian Lake) dished out 32 assists to go along with 14 digs and four kills. 

Kelly posted a team-high 21 digs and senior Megan Schaefer (Elyria, Ohio/ Elyria) followed with eight.

The Tigers game out strong in the first set. After a service ace and two Hiram attacking errors, DePauw took an early 3-0 lead. As much as the Terriers faught to take the lead, the Tigers maintained their lead during the entire set to win with a 25-15 score. 

Hiram came out wanting revenge in the second set. The score was close until the middle of the set, with each team being no more than a few points of each other. Then, a series of Tiger errors in combination with kills from Kelly, Jay and Wilson gave Hiram a 21-13 lead. The Terriers used their momentum to finish the set and make the match tied at one. 

DePauw jumped out to an early 12-6 lead in the thirs set. Jay and Kelly both continued to be offensive threats, cutting the Tiger lead to three. But DePauw's offense went on a 10-2 scoring spree to make the score 23-12. DePauw's Gabi Allread recorded two consecutive kills to take the set away from the Terriers. 

The Terriers took the lead in the fourth set, taking an 11-7 lead. But a strong offensive performance from the Tiger offense resulted in DePauw winning the set and match. 

Hiram finished with 41 kills and a .058 hitting mark, while DePauw had 47 kills and a .178 hitting percentage.

The Terriers return to action on Wednesday when they face Oberlin at 7:00 p.m. in their first conference match at home.