HIRAM, Ohio – January 21, 2023 – Hiram fell short in its matches against Alderson Broaddus (0-3) and Adrian College (2-3) on Saturday afternoon inside Price Gymnasium.
The Terriers were within striking distance of Alderson Broaddus and had match points against Adrian College, but the fight wasn't enough on a day that was filled with notable performances.
Kyle Martini led the team with 9 and 15 kills between the two matches, with Jackson Deubner (5 and 8 kills) right behind him. Connor Tilton had a combined 17 digs in the two games.
Game 1 vs Alderson Broaddus, 12 p.m.
Alderson Broaddus jumped out to a 16-9 lead and held off Hiram to take the first set. The Terriers were able to cut the deficit to 3 before the Battlers won 5 of the last 8 points.
An early deficit proved to be too much again in the second set; Alderson Broaddus led 13-5 and wouldn't trail for the remainder of the set. Martini kept his team in the game thanks to 3 kills, 1 ace and 1 block in the second set alone.
Martini's defense continued to play a key role in Hiram's comeback effort, as he recorded consecutive blocks to cut Alderson Broaddus' lead to 12-8 in the third set. The Terriers scored another 4 consecutive points later in the set to trail by only 2 points (15-13) before the Battlers closed out the non-conference battle with consistent play from Loic Nanchen.
Game 2 vs Adrian, 4 p.m.
Hiram found its groove early on against Adrian, winning the first two sets by 25-16 and 25-19 scores. Martini had 6 kills in the dominant start, while Deubner recorded 4 kills during that span.
The Bulldogs, who entered the game with a 2-0 record on the weekend, battled their way back into the contest by winning the third (25-19) and fourth (25-19) sets. Chase Heuer was a force in many ways, recording a team-high 14 kills and a game-high 8 service aces over the course of the tightly contested affair.
The teams traded points throughout the fifth set, with Adrian leading 8-5 before Hiram regained a 12-11 advantage. The Terriers would later get a block from Tilton and a kill by JarodLeynes to give themselves a 14-12 lead and 2 match points.
Adrian responded by scoring 5 of the final 6 points, including a block by Gavin Yonker to seal the match.
Hiram will continue play on Wednesday when they host Baldwin Wallace at 7 p.m. at Price Gymnasium.
