Hiram defeats Allegheny in NCAC Volleyball Semifinals

8 p.m. -- #3 Hiram (27-7) def. #2 Allegheny (28-13)
3-2 (30-23, 30-24, 25-30, 28-30, 15-13)

The third-seeded Hiram Terriers jumped out to an early lead and then staved off a determined charge from second-seeded Allegheny College to claim a tense 3-2 victory in the second North Coast Athletic Conference semifinal match of the night at Wittenberg's HPER Center. The win improved the Terriers to 27-7 on the season and moved them into their first-ever NCAC Tournament championship match against six-time defending champion Wittenberg at 2 p.m. Saturday.

The Terriers were the dominant team in the first two games, in part due to a height advantage that led to numerous blocking opportunities and consistently altered Allegheny's plan of attack. But in games 3 and 4, the Gators scrambled back to make a match of it, and in Game 5, Allegheny took a seemingly commanding 7-3 lead. However, Hiram's Shana Toth served five straight winning points to put the Terriers back in the lead and the game seesawed back and forth from that point until the Terriers wrapped things up with three of the last four points that broke a 12-12 tie.

Hiram was led defensively by freshman Jennifer Hlebovy (Poland, Ohio/Boardman), who collected 25 digs, and senior Charity Norman (Port Washington, Ohio/Indian Valley), who finished with 22 digs. Sophomore Beth Groselle (Hiram, Ohio/Crestwood) led the team with 13 kills as the Terriers did a fine job spreading the wealth on offense. Norman finished with 47 assists on the evening, out of 49 total for her team.

Allegheny had its fine season end with a 28-13 overall mark after a 7-1 ride through the NCAC's regular season. Junior Rhiannon Mauk (Carlton, Pa./Cochranton) led the Gators with 19 digs, junior Katie Bradshaw (Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown) added 14 kills to lead the Gators in that category, and senior Dhira Dale (Guys Mills, Pa./Saegertown) chipped in with five blocks that led the team in that area.