HIRAM, Ohio – February 13, 2024 – For the first time since 2019 and the second time in program history – Hiram men's volleyball beat Mount Union.
The Terriers played one of their best games of the season on Tuesday evening at Price Gymnasium, rolling to a straight set victory over the Purple Raiders: 25-19, 25-22, 25-16. Hiram had lost its last five games in the all-time matchup, with the previous win coming at home on March 19, 2019 under former head coach Kyle Mars.
Kyle Martini recorded 16 kills in the victory, his second-most kills in a single game this season (23 vs Olivet). The junior now has 395 kills for his career, just five shy of becoming the sixth student-athlete in program history to reach the 400-kill plateau.
Connor Tilton,
Garrett Scheidegger and
Jackson Deubner had 7, 6 and 5 kills respectively to fill out the contributions from an offensive that had a hitting percentage of .297.
Matthew Albano set his teammates up with 32 assists; the junior's 9.3 assists per set this season is on pace to be a career-high.
On the defensive end, three student-athletes recorded at least eight digs: Albano (9), Deubner (8) and
Jarod Leynes (8).
Hiram recorded a .500 hitting percentage in the first set, which included 14 kills and just two attack errors. Martini recorded seven kills during that span before Scheidegger closed it out with a kill of his own to seal a 1-0 lead in the match.
The defense did its part in the second set, keeping the ball alive and forcing the Purple Raiders into a hitting percentage of just .105. Mount Union went on a 6-0 run to tie the score at 20-20 before Hiram scored 5 of the next 7 points – including a set-winning kill by Martini – to move one set closer to victory.
Perhaps the most dominant performance from the team came in the third set, when it never allowed more than two consecutive points to be scored by Mount Union. Martini recorded another five kills and Hiram won the set, 25-16, which marked the fewest points the team has ever allowed in the all-time matchup.
The Terriers are now 8-4 this season, which includes a 1-0 conference record. They've already matched their win total from the 2023 season.
Next, Hiram will travel to Columbus, Ohio for a tri-match against Wittenberg and Wabash inside the Greater Columbus Convention Center on Saturday starting at 12 p.m.
