Hiram College

HIRAM, Ohio - September 4th, 2026 - Hiram women's volleyball picked up a five-set win against Heidelberg: 18-25, 25-19, 25-27, 25-19,15-12 before dropping their final game of the day against Hanover: 23-25, 19-25, 25-15, 16-25.

Hiram showed promising spurts of dominance in the first day of the Great Lakes Crossover hosted by Heidelberg in Tiffin, OH. The Terriers strung together numerous runs against the Student Princes en route to a five-set win. Despite falling to Hanover, the Terriers dominated the reigning HCAC champs in the third set of the match, winning the set by 10 points. 

Heidelberg

The trio of Sofia Smotek, Megan Chiang, and Maggie Riley led the charge for the Terriers - combining for 52 kills. Smotek recorded a team-high 21 kills, including seven kills in the last two win or go home sets. Smotek sealed the game with a kill assisted by Courtney Johnson. 

Along with the attacking trio, Johnson had a breakout game. The sophomore setter racked up a career-high 33 assists to go along with 10 digs. Johnson was one of five Terriers to record double-digit digs. 

After dropping set one, Hiram evened the sets at 1-1. An ace from Smotek got the Terrier's out ahead 6-1. Sydney Wenzel, Riley, and Smotek ended the set with three straight kills. Hiram found themselves down 16-21 in the third set, then rallied seven straight points to take a 23-21 lead capped off by an ace from Chiang - who led the team with three service aces. Heidelberg took the set with three straight points of its own, winning the set 27-25. 

That was the last time the Terriers trailed throughout the game - staying in command with a team-high 20 kills to four errors in the fourth set. Similarly, Hiram recorded 13 kills with no attacking errors in the fifth set. 

Freshman Rebecca Volpe had a nice start to her career, recording six kills in just seven total attacks. Mia Nelson also set a career-high in assists with 21. Jacey English made her collegiate debut - totaling 21 digs.

Hanover

A quick turnaround after a hard fought five-set match - Hiram squared up with a Hanover team who won its conference in 2025 and returned many key players. 

Throughout the first three games of the season, Smotek has led the team in kills in each game. Against the Panthers, she tallied 15 kills - not far behind was Chiang with 13. Volpe continued her impressive day with a .500 hitting percentage off eight kills. Johnson also paced the team with 20 assists. 

After falling behind two sets, Hiram stayed focused with a dominant third set win. After four early kills by Chiang, Hiram got out ahead 14-4. That was enough to stay in command to take the set 25-15. In the final frame, Hiram fell behind 23-12, but added four straight points to put up one last fight before dropping the match.

Up Next

Hiram will take on Adrian and Kalamazoo in Day 2 of the Great Lakes Crossover. They will open the day with the Bulldogs of Adrian College at 9 a.m. on Court 3 - followed by a game break before taking on Kalamazoo at 1 p.m. on Court 3.