Tuesday marks the beginning of the NCAC Tournament for women's volleyball, which features Hiram traveling to Oberlin and Denison traveling to Wittenberg in the quarterfinal round.

Hiram is coming in as the No. 5 seed, posing an overall record of 9-18 and a conference record of 3-4. Oberlin, the No. 4 seed of the tournament, comes into the competition hoisting a record of 13-9 and a conference record of 3-4. The last time these two teams met came on October 24, when the Terriers came-from-behind and pulled out a 5-set victory at Price Gymnasium.

Hiram leads the all-time series against Oberlin, 41-10-1, which dates back to 1974. Three of those 41 wins have come in the NCAC Tournament in the 2016, 2019 and 2022 seasons. The Terriers are coming off a semifinal appearance in last year's conference tourney.

The Terriers' most recent conference match was a hard-fought loss in a four-set match against Ohio Wesleyan, the No. 2 seed in the tournament. Both the Battling Bishops and top-seeded DePauw earned automatic berths in the semifinals, with the Tigers set to host both the semifinals and finals.

Hiram has been hitting at .137 (6th in conference) while averaging 9.7 kills per set (7th in conference) and 13.37 points per set (6th in conference). Defensively, it is averaging 1.9 blocks per set (1st in conference) and 16.8 digs per set (3rd in conference).

The Terriers are led in kills by Emily Richardson (254) and Cate Maguire (251), a talented duo that also leads the team in total blocks with 85 and 71 respectively. Brooke Fishback ranks first on the team in digs (339) and aces (47); the sophomore has teamed with Erin Burke as part of the Terriers' 6-2 offense, with both student-athletes having over 300 assists this season.

The Yeowomen haven't played a conference match since that October 24 battle with the Terriers; since then, it has a 1-3 record, which includes a straight set win over Pitt Greensburg.

Oberlin ranks second in the NCAC in points per set (15.96), while topping the conference in hitting percentage (.194) and service aces per set (2.32). Defensively, it averages 14.26 digs per set (7th in conference) and 1.48 blocks per set (4th in conference). As for their opponents, the Yeowomen hold them to a .148 hitting percentage (1st in conference).

The Yeowomen are led by Cami Sweet (205) and Andréa Jones (193) in kills; Natalie Dufour and Sweet also solidify the Yeowomen's defensive production, as they have 57 and 52 total blocks respectively. Taylor Gwynne leads the team in assists (707) and aces (42), while Iris Archibald anchors the defense with 379 digs to go along with 39 service aces on the offensive end.

All the action is set to take place at Philips Gymnasium in Oberlin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, with the winner taking a long bus ride out to Greencastle, Indiana to face DePauw in the semifinals on Friday at 7:30 p.m.