PITTSBURGH, Pa. - March 20, 2021 – Hiram College women's volleyball fell to the Carnegie Mellon Tartans, 3-0, in their 2021 spring season opener on Saturday at Wiegand Gym.
 
After trading points to open the first set, Carnegie Mellon raced out to an early 7-2 lead. The Tartans led by as many as eight in the early going, before the Terriers took a timeout.
 
But the Tartans continued their run out of the timeout, extending their first-set lead out to double-digits before finishing off the set with a 25-14 victory.
 
The Terriers took the early lead in set on Kayla Cole's ace and a service error by the Tartans, but Carnegie Mellon fought back knotting the score seven times in the early going. And following a service error to even the score at 10-10, CMU scored five-straight to jump out to a 15-10 lead they'd never relinquish.
 
Hiram pulled within one on a kill from Riley Elliott, but the Tartans answered with another run, taking a 21-16 lead to force Hiram to take its second timeout, and eventually pulling away with a 25-19 set-two victory.
 
Carnegie Mellon then opened set three with four-straight points and jumped out to a 9-4 lead on a service error. The Terriers would cut the deficit to four, 13-9, on Madison Burns' ace, but a 6-1 run put the set away for the Tartans, 25-12, giving Carnegie Mellon the three-set victory.
 
Jaya Martin led the Terriers with seven kills, while Kiara Franks added six. Burns notched a team-high 13 assists, while Mackenzie Brannon led Hiram defensively with nine digs.
 
The Terriers will look to bounce back when they return to the court on Saturday, April 17 in Springfield, Ohio against Wittenberg at 1:00 p.m.