WOOSTER, Ohio – October 23, 2021 – Hiram women's volleyball took one victory in a tri-match held at The College of Wooster on Saturday afternoon over Wooster. The Terriers beat the Fighting Scots, 3-2, and fell to Penn State Behrend 3-0.

HIRAM 3, WOOSTER 2
Set one remained tight through the middle portions as neither team started with too big of a lead. Hiram pulled away taking a 17-12 lead after a kill from Kiara Franks. The first set remained in striking distance for Wooster, but Hiram held strong claiming a first set victory at 25-18 as Kayla Cole sealed the deal with a kill.

Both teams again stayed steady early in the second set with neither team having more than a three-point lead through ten points. The Terriers again started inching closer to victory right around the midpoint mark. An attack error from the home team followed by a Mary Landis kill put Hiram up 17-13. A dominant end of the set saw the Terriers score six of the final seven points winning 25-16.

An attack error from the Fighting Scots opened up an 11-7 lead for Hiram in set three. Both teams traded points until after the midway point of the set. A mini three-point run from Wooster secured a 22-19 lead before picking up the final three points of the set winning 25-20.

Wooster stormed off to a large lead in set four as the home team looked to force a fifth set. The Fighting Scots got up 11-4 early in the set. The two squads traded points for the remainder of the set, but Wooster coasted for the set victory winning 25-16 as the two teams headed for a fifth set.  

The fifth set was a nail-biter on both ends through the ninth point. Hiram exploded capturing the final six points of the set. Over the final six points Franks picked up two kills and Mackenzie Brannon registered a service ace along with multiple Wooster errors.

Senior Kiara Franks notched her 1000^th career kill in the match making her the ninth in program history to reach the achievement. Franks led the team with 17 kills for the match and Kayla Cole head 13.

Emily Chrustic and Mary Landis were the team leaders in the assists category with 24 and 18. Defensively, Brannon and Miya Gotto, each had 16 digs. Landis and Cole also reached double figures with 13 and 11.

The team improves to 4-3 in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play with the victory with one match to play.

Penn State Behrend 3, Hiram 0
Match two got underway with the Lions taking a 13-6 early in set one. Penn State Behrend continued their lead and led 18-9 as they looked to take home the first set. A five-point run late put the Lions up 23-11 as they would win set one 25-16.

Despite starting the set down 12-6, Hiram fought hard late to get close to a lead. The Terriers went on a run that saw them score six of seven points chopping the PSB lead to 18-16. Franks was responsible for three kills in that stretch, along with one from Madison Burns and Lyndsey Johns. The Lions began breaking away slightly, looking to capture set two. Down 24-19, Hiram scored four-straight, but it wouldn't be enough, falling in set two 25-22.

Set three was the tightest set of the match with Hiram getting off to a 10-6 start after a Cole kill. The Terriers held onto the small lead towards the latter portion of the match before a Penn State Behrend run. With the score tied at 20, the Lions scored the final four points of the set winning 25-22.

Franks and Cole again led the team with ten and nine kills. Chrustic hit the double-digit mark with 17 assists and Brannon led with 15 digs.

With the two results on the day the team goes to 13-12 overall along with the 4-3 conference record as mentioned above. Hiram has three regular matches left on the season, including their final home match on Wednesday, Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. against Oberlin.