BEREA, Ohio - February 8, 2025 - Hiram split its tri-match with Thiel (3-0 win) and No. 13 Baldwin Wallace (3-2 loss) on Saturday afternoon at Ursprung Gymnasium, an impressive day against what figures to be one of the top teams in the PAC and a nationally ranked team as well.
The results keep the Terriers above .500 for the season (5-4) and marks the end of a nine-match stretch that was entirely played on the road or at a neutral location.
Hiram 3, Thiel 0 - Match Recap
Hiram had one of its most clutch victories of the season in the first match of the day, winning each of the three sets over the Tomcats by exactly two points. Both teams were picked as the top-two teams in the preseason PAC poll, although the match wasn't considered an official conference match with the teams set to still meet later in the season.
The Terriers got 10 kills from Jackson Deubner, 32 assists from Matthew Albano and eight digs from Connor Tilton, a well-rounded effort that kept the opposition guessing throughout the match. Garrett Scheidegger and Kyle Martini also had three total blocks apiece to lead the defense.
The biggest moment came in the first set, when Hiram trailed 24-22 before eventually saving three set points. Cullen Sivak had a kill to level the set at 26-26 before an attack error and bad set sealed a 28-26 win.
The Terriers trailed 5-0 before coming back in the second set, but never trailed in the third set as part of an up-and-down match that tilted toward Hiram in the bigger moments. Hiram has now won three straight matches against the Tomcats, tied for its longest win streak in the history of the matchup.
No. 13 Baldwin Wallace 3, Hiram 2 - Match Recap
The Terriers gave the Yellow Jackets all they could handle in the second match of the day by grabbing a one-set lead (2-1) before the home team found its form and won the final two sets, 25-22 and 15-11. Baldwin Wallace entered play with three ranked wins in the early stages of its 2025 season already, but Hiram matched its opposition for most of the match, an exciting result for the team moving forward.
Derek Chiang (12 kills), Jackson Deubner (11) and Connor Tilton (10) each had double-digit kill totals, while Matthew Albano posted his fifth career match with at least 45 assists (46). Each team had an attack percentage of .240, a testament to the evenly contested nature of the match.
Hiram played well in the big moments, winning the second set by three points and the third set by two points to pull ahead in the overall match lead. Tilton delivered the set-clinching kill in the second before Deubner did the same in the third, shifting the momentum after the Terriers lost the first set, 25-17.
Then the Yellow Jackets found the rhythm that have made them the highest-ranked team in Ohio and one of the best in Division III, according to the AVCA Coaches' Poll. Michael Beard spearheaded that effort, posting a match-high 19 kills and helping turn Hiram's 16-15 lead in the fourth set into an eventual winner-take-all fifth set.
BW jumped out to a 4-0 lead in that decisive set and fended off a late rally from the Terriers to seal the come-from-behind win.
What's Next
Hiram will have its home opener on Tuesday, when it hosts Mount Union at 7 p.m. inside Price Gymnasium.
