Hiram Tops Denison In NCAC Tournament Semifinals

November 3, 2006

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Hiram Terriers narrowly avoided an upset in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, topping Denison 3-2 in the second semifinal match at Wittenberg's HPER Center.

The Terriers, who finished second in the NCAC regular season standings with a 14-2 record, improved to 31-3 overall. Hiram advanced to its third consecutive NCAC Tournament championship match, with a familiar foe awaiting on Saturday. Wittenberg, the 2006 regular season champion and top seed in this year's tournament, will square off with the Terriers at 2 p.m. in the HPER Center.

This see-saw affair came down to a huge Hiram run in the fifth game. Denison led 8-4 when the two teams switched sides in Game 5. The change of scenery was welcome for the Terriers, who proceeded to reel off 11 of the next 14 points to capture the hard-fought win by game scores of 31-29, 26-30, 30-27, 28-30 and 15-11.

Hiram's balanced offensive attack was highlighted by senior Michelle Kozempa and her 23 kills, while junior Megan Taylor distributed 58 assists. Defensively, the Terriers picked up 163 digs in the match, led by Jill Howard with 41 digs.

Denison funneled the majority of its offense to senior Kristen Sheffield, who took 101 swings in the match and finished with a tournament-high 29 kills. Jenny Gresla finished with 56 assists and Caitlin Krupka was strong on defense with a tournament-high 54 digs for the Big Red, who wrap up the season with a 17-11 overall record after finishing third in the NCAC regular season standings.