HIRAM, Ohio - March 20, 2021 – Hiram men's volleyball won their third-straight, defeating the Penn St. Behrend Lions, 3-2, on Saturday in Price Gymnasium in a thrilling, back-and-forth five-set match between two of the top teams in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC).
 
After the Terriers and Lions traded blows to open the first set, Hiram, on the serve of Jake Lininger, rattled off five-straight points to take a 10-5 lead. A service error slowed the run, but the Terriers picked back right where they left off, scoring three-straight and four of the next five to extend their lead to 14-7.
 
Behrend responded with a run of their own, closing the gap to just three points on Cody Schnur's kill, and knotting the score at 15-all on a bad set by Hiram. The two sides then traded leads until Hiram rattled off six of the next seven, highlighted by two kills from Dangelo Boehner and Kilvio Montero's ace to take a 23-18 lead.
 
The Lions answered with a point of their own, but Hiram finished off the set, 25-19, to take a 1-0 match lead.
 
Set two proved to be just as competitive, as neither side was able to press their advantage in the early going. But with the score tied at 13-13, Hiram scored four-straight to take the largest lead of the set so far.
 
From there, the Terriers and Lions traded points, until three-straight from Penn St. Behrend pulled the Lions back within one. But Hiram regrouped and scored the final five points of the set, taking over the serve on a service error and never giving it back to take the second set, 25-19, and take a 2-0 match lead.
 
And after another back-and-forth start to the third set, Behrend this time jumped out to a lead with a run of their own. Up 9-5, the Lions held off a few Terrier chargers, including twice when Hiram came within a point, 19-18 and 20-19, before pulling away with three-straight to take a 23-19 lead.
 
The Terriers weren't finished however, and scored two straight, but Behrend wrapped up the set with a pair of kills to take the set, 25-21, and cut Hiram's lead to 2-1.
 
Penn St. Behrend then quickly jumped out to a lead in the fourth set, leading by as many as eight. A late Hiram run cut the deficit to six, 23-17, but the Lions finished off the fourth set, 25-18, to send the match to a decisive, fifth set.
 
An attack error by Behrend gave Hiram the opening point of the fifth set, but the Lions quickly tied things up on a service error. Two kills, one by Boehner and one by Montero, gave Hiram a 3-1 lead, and two more, extended it out to 5-2.
 
But the Lions wouldn't go away quietly, storming back to tie the fifth set at 9-all, and again at 10-10 and 11-11. But Hiram stood firm, and scored the next four-straight to take the fifth-set, 15-11, and the match, 3-2, smashing four-straight kills on attacks by Boehner, Hunter Rock, Jake Lininger and Montero.
 
With the win, the Terriers move to 4-1 (3-0 AMCC), while Penn St. Behrend falls to 3-3 (2-1 AMCC).
 
Montero led Hiram with a double-double, tallying 17 kills, 12 digs and four aces, while Boehner notched 13 kills and four block assists.
 
Defensively, Cory Fischer notched a team-high 17 digs, while Lininger added 16 digs to go along with 27 kills.
 
As a team, Hiram tallied 53 kills, 50 assists and 65 digs, with a .155 hitting percentage.
 
The Terriers will look to keep it rolling on Wednesday, March 24 when they travel to Altoona, Pa. to take on Penn St. Altoona in another AMCC conference matchup at 7:00 p.m.