HIRAM, Ohio - March 1, 2025 - Hiram men's volleyball had a day of ups and downs on Saturday, as the program honored its 2024 team and distributed their AMCC Championship rings before going on to beat Adrian in three sets inside Price Gymnasium: 25-20, 25-16, 25-19. To start the day, the Terriers fell short to Thiel in a battle for first place in the PAC: 25-21, 28-30, 18-25, 18-25.

The two results move the Terriers' record to 9-6 overall and 4-1 in the PAC; Hiram is currently second in the PAC behind Thiel (12-6, 5-0), with the two teams set to meet again on April 4 in Greenville, PA.

Match 1 Recap vs Thiel

After playing a strong first set behind an efficient 11 kills and two attack errors, the Terriers couldn't pull away in the second set despite holding a 20-18 lead and later missing out on a pair of set points. The Tomcats ultimately leveled the match at one set apiece by winning four of the last five points.

Hiram couldn't return to that form it had in the first set, with Thiel's Ezra Oesterling leading all players in the match with 19 kills. Hiram got 14 kills from both Jackson Deubner and Derek Chiang, but the team couldn't hold a three-point lead in the fourth set and fell victim to 19 kills from the opposition in the fifth set.

While the Tomcats currently hold the top spot in the PAC standings, Hiram still has seven conference matches remaining on its schedule to make up that ground, including the rematch with Thiel on the final day of the regular season.

Match 2 Recap vs Adrian

After honoring the memorable 2024 Hiram team that punched its second ever ticket to the NCAA Tournament thanks to a dominant run in the AMCC, Hiram regained control of the day with a commanding win over the Bulldogs. The three-set win marked the team's second straight against Adrian after Hiram had lost the first six all-time matchups between the two teams.

The Terriers had seven separate scoring runs of at least four points in the match, taking advantage of the matchup and giving the entire roster a chance to settle in. In the second set alone, Hiram had 15 kills, 0 attack errors and a scoring run of six straight behind the serve of Kyle Martini.

Deubner and Chiang again led the team in kills with nine apiece, while Martini had eight and Dakotah Welsh had five. Welsh also had four service aces and 11 digs to fill out a strong stat line after playing as the libero in the opening match.

Jarod Leynes closed out the match with a kill, sending the Terriers home with momentum heading into another big week of action.

What's Next

Hiram will continue its seven-game homestand with a PAC match against Saint Vincent on Tuesday at 7 p.m. inside Price Gymnasium.