GREENVILLE, Pa. - March 28, 2021 – Hiram Terriers men's volleyball swept the Thiel College Tomcats, 3-0, on Sunday at Beeghly Gymnasium to win their fifth-straight match and clinch a spot in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament for the first time in program history.
 
Hiram took an early 4-1 lead in the opening set, before the Tomcats fought back to take a 6-5 and then 7-6 lead of their own. The two sides then went back-and-forth, trading runs until the score stood at 14-14.
 
From there, the Terriers held the Tomcats without a point the rest of the set, scoring 11 straight points on Hunter Rock's serve to claim a 25-14 first-set victory.
 
And after another back-and-forth start to the second set, Hiram used a 10-3 run to open up a 14-9 lead, highlighted by three service aces, two by Jake Lininger and another by Kilvio Montero.
 
The Tomcats wouldn't get closer than six points the rest of the way, as the Terriers cruised to a 25-15 second-set victory and a 2-0 match lead.
 
The third set proved to be the closest of the three, with Hiram opening up an early lead, followed by Thiel using a run of their own to even the score at 12-all.
 
Five-straight from the Terriers on Nathan Cassell's serve gave Hiram a 17-12 lead, but the Tomcats clawed their way back, pulling within three on an attack error by the Terriers, before cutting Hiram's lead to just one, 22-21, on Jonathan Buckley's ace.
 
But a Cassell kill slowed the Tomcats roll, and Hiram and Thiel traded points the rest of the set to finish off the three-set victory for the Terriers, 25-23, on another kill from Montero.
 
Montero led the Terriers with 14 kills, eight digs and three blocks, while Tom Supan added 12 kills and five digs. Setter Andrew Diaz led Hiram with 21 assists, while both Lininger and Montero notched a pair of service aces.
 
As a team, the Terriers tallied a .313 hitting percentage while holding Thiel to a .000 hitting percentage.
 
With the win, Hiram moves to 6-1 (5-0 AMCC) on the year, clinching a spot in the AMCC Conference Tournament, while Thiel drops to 1-7 (1-5 AMCC). With another win or Medaille loss, Hiram can clinch a Top-2 seed in the conference tournament as well.  
 
The Terriers will next host the Geneva College Tornadoes on Wednesday, March 31 at 7:00 p.m., with pole position in the AMCC on-the-line.