HIRAM, Ohio - September 13, 2024 - Hiram took care of business on Friday afternoon at the Giny Hunt Kilt Classic, beating both Geneva and Kalamazoo in four sets to return to the .500 mark (5-5) for the entire season.
It was a day for the seniors, as Cate Maguire had a team-high 12 kills in match one and Emily Richardson posted a career-high 17 kills in the second match. Brooke Fishback did the majority of the distributing, collecting 40 assists throughout the day.
Match 1 Recap
The Terriers took a 2-0 lead in the match thanks to three kills from Andrya Hanmore in the first set and three kills from Cate Maguire in the second set. The senior tandem finished with a combined 20 kills in the match.
Geneva found its form in the third set with a .220 hitting percentage during that span, but Hiram answered swiftly with a 25-13 win in the fourth set. In that match-clinching set, Hiram had a match-high .357 hitting percentage, with Maguire spearheading the effort and notching another four kills.
Match 2 Recap
The one-sided sets continued to accumulate in the second match of the day, as Hiram won the first set, 25-14, and the third set, 25-12, as part of a victory over a Kalamazoo team that entered the day with a winning record. Richardson was the star of the show, as her 17 kills surpassed her previous career-high of 15 kills in a single match (15 vs Grove City on Sept. 3, 2022).
Perhaps the most impressive part of Richardson' performance was the consistency; the senior from Brunswick, Ohio recorded at least three kills in every set, which included six kills in the second set alone. Maguire and Hanmore continued to have an offensive presence as well, tallying 11 and seven kills respectively.
The defense of Hiram was the key to the convincing victory, as it combined for 70 digs just hours after having a season-high 71 digs in the first match. Kalamazoo had a hitting percentage of .000 in each of the final two sets to cap off the successful day (nine kills, nine attack errors in each set).
What's Next
Hiram will return home and take on an in-state rival in Mount Union on Wednesday at 7 p.m. from Price Gymnasium in Hiram, Ohio.
