ALTOONA, Pennsylvania - February 7, 2023 - Hiram improved to 2-0 in AMCC play with a 5-set victory over Penn State Altoona on Tuesday evening at Adler Arena: 19-25, 25-17, 21-25, 25-16, 15-12.
The Terriers never trailed in either of the final two sets, with Jackson Deubner recording 5 kills in the fourth set and Kyle Martini tallying 4 kills in the fifth set. Cullen Sivak also had kills throughout the dominant stretch, while Matthew Albano had 2 of his 7 service aces during that span.
The win keeps Hiram atop the AMCC standings, with Penn State Behrend (3-0) and Geneva (1-0) being the only other unbeaten teams in conference play this season. Hiram also joined Penn State Behrend as the only two AMCC teams currently riding a winning streak.
It was another balanced attack for the Terriers, with Martini (10 kills), Deubner (9) and Sivak (9) leading the team in kills. Connor Tilton had a team-high 9 digs, while Martini had a career-high 4 total blocks to round out his complete performance.
Hiram led 5-4 in the first set before allowing six straight points. It would cut the deficit to 21-19 in the later stages, but the Lions held on to take the early one-set lead.
The Terriers won 16 of the last 21 points in the second set to even the match. The team's defense played a key role, as it forced multiple attack errors and swung the pendulum of momentum back in Hiram's favor.
Penn State Altoona started the third set on an 8-2 run, with four different players recording a kill throughout the fast start. Hiram would fight back, but the set eventually went to the Lions.
With their backs to the wall, Hiram bounced back yet again.
The Terriers took a commanding lead right from the start of each of the last two sets. The contributions of Martini, Deubner, Albano and Sivak kept the opposition on its heels.
Hiram won 5 straight points with Jarod Leynes serving in the fourth set and 3 straight points with Sivak serving in the fifth. For the match, the Terriers also had 8 fewer attack errors than the Lions.
Head coach Glen Conley and company will look to keep things rolling when they host Wells College on Saturday at 1 p.m. inside Price Gymnasium.
