LATROBE, Pennsylvania – April 13, 2024 – A historic run added a chapter of dominance on Saturday afternoon at the Robert S. Carey Center, as Hiram men's volleyball tied its longest win streak in program history (nine) and won a second AMCC Tournament Title with a 25-20, 25-20, 25-13 rout of the top-seeded Saint Vincent Bearcats.
The straight-set win secures Hiram's second ever spot in the NCAA Tournament (also in 2021), where it will have a chance to earn a victory on the game's biggest stage for the first time in program history.
The way the Terriers earned the title stood out the most; the team won all six of its sets in the AMCC Tournament, four of which came by five-or-more points. Between the two matches against Thiel and Saint Vincent, Hiram had a big advantage in kills (82 to 60) and digs (110 to 98).
The team effort also led to some individual accolades, with
Kyle Martini and
Matthew Albano both earning spots on the AMCC All-Tournament Team. Martini finished the weekend with team-highs in kills (31) and digs (25), while Albano recorded 71 assists throughout the two matches.
On Saturday, in front of a crowd of nearly 400 fans, Hiram rose to the occasion of beating the regular-season champions on their own home floor. The Terriers recorded 10+ kills in each of the three sets, which included multiple three-point runs in the first set, two four-point runs in the second set and a five-point run in the third set.
Martini got better as the match progressed, picking up five kills in the second set and four kills in the third set. Albano added four service aces and
Garrett Scheidegger tallied four blocks, while the Terriers as a collective unit had a hitting percentage of .162 (.448 in the third set alone).
Jackson Deubner played a pivotal role in the convincing finish, helping the team to a five-point scoring run with a kill and four consecutive points on his serve. Moments later, an ace by
Connor Tilton capped off the team's 24 hours of dominance and guaranteed the Terriers a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Hiram will await its next opponent on Monday, when the NCAA unveils the Division III Men's Volleyball Championship bracket at 10 a.m. on NCAA.com. In its seven seasons as a program, Hiram men's volleyball has already made two NCAA Tournament appearances (loss to Vassar in 2021 First Round).
