SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - April 17, 2021 – Hiram College women's volleyball fell to the Wittenberg University Tigers, 3-1, on Saturday in their 2021 spring season finale at the HPER Center.
 
Wittenberg got off to a hot start in the opening set, using a 6-0 run to open up a 12-2 lead on a kill by Sarah Hettich and another 7-2 run to open a 19-4 lead. The Terriers closed the gap with a run of therir own, highlighted by one of Kayla Cole's seven kills, but after a service error, the Tigers slowed the run and pulled away with a 25-13 victory in set one.
 
The Tigers again took the early lead in set two, but this time, the Terriers roared back, rattling off six-straight points on Jaya Martin's serve and three Kiara Franks' kills to take a 6-4 lead.
 
From there, the two sides went back-and-forth, till Hiram extended their lead to the largest of the set, 13-8, on a Wittenberg attack error.
 
After trading points over the next few serves, Wittenberg made a run, cutting the Terriers' lead to just two, 19-18, on a block by Hettich and Tyler Linkhart. But kills from Cole and Franks brought Hiram's lead back out to five.
 
However, the Tigers made another run, this time tying the score at 23-all, but with an attack error and Cole kill, the Terriers finished up the set with a 25-23 victory to knot the match at one set apiece.
 
The Tigers raced out to an early lead in set three, and held the Terriers at bay for much of the early going. A 3-0 run, highlighted by kills from Franks and Martin, pulled Hiram within three, 13-10, but Wittenberg answered with nine of the next 11 points to pull away, 22-12, and eventually finished off a 25-15 victory in set three.
 
Hiram scored the first points of set four, on a kill by Melina Lee and an attack error, but the Tigers fought back to take the lead, and quickly surged ahead by five on a Katie Hiestand kill.
 
Cole and the Terriers pulled within three, 10-7, but with a 7-0 run, Wittenberg pulled away, taking a 19-8 lead on a Hiram attack error. Five quick points from Hiram made it 19-13, and two more made it 20-15, but the Tigers scored the last four points of the match to finish off a 25-16 victory in set four, and a 3-1 match victory over the Terriers.
 
Lee led the Terriers with 12 kills, while Franks and Cole added nine and seven kills apiece. Madison Burns led Hiram with 21 assists, while Cole and Mackenzie Brannon each led the Terriers, defensively, with 13 digs.
 
The Terriers wrap up their 2021 spring campaign with a 1-2 record, while the Tigers move to 4-2 on the year.