ALLIANCE, Ohio - March 15, 2023 - Hiram wouldn't go down easily in a 4-set loss to Mount Union on Wednesday evening, battling back and winning the third set before falling by a final score of 25-18, 25-14, 23-25, 25-21.

It was a big improvement from the previous matchup between these two teams; the Terriers scored 52 points in their season-opener against the Purple Raiders on January 14 before scoring 78 points over the four sets on Wednesday.

Junior Kyle Martini erupted for a game-high 21 kills, his 2nd-most in any game this season (23 vs Saint Vincent). Martini joined Tom Supan and Kilvio Montero as the only players in program history to have multiple games with 20+ kills in a career.

Cullen Sivak added 8 kills, also his 2nd-most in a game this season (9 at Penn State Altoona). Matthew Albano rounded out the notable production with 37 assists and 11 digs.

Mount Union was in control for the first two sets, as Hiram couldn't gain a lead larger than 1 point during the span. Cameron Ternent and Luke Trzeciak – who finished with 15 and 14 kills respectively – spearheaded the Purple Raider offense to gain the 2-0 lead.

Hiram made its presence felt in the third set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead before going on a 6-0 run later in the set to take a 24-21 lead. Five of those 6 points came on the serve of Jack Meinert, who was playing in his 9th match of the season.

The Terriers would again gain some ground early in the fourth set, leading 3-0 and holding that advantage to an 8-5 score. Mount Union would answer with 5 unanswered points, though, and did just enough in the end to pull out the win.

Hiram returns to AMCC competition on Saturday against Mount Aloysius beginning at 1 p.m. in Cresson, Pennsylvania. The Terriers won in 3 sets when it hosted the Mounties earlier this year.