The Hiram Terriers’ volleyball team had Dennison right where they wanted them after winning the third set 25-21 to take a 2-1 lead in the match. But Hiram could not put away the Big Red in the fourth set, squandering a late lead and ultimately lost a five-set thriller against their North Coast Athletic Conference rivals 25-19, 20-25, 25-21, 21-25 and 9-15 at the Coleman Sports Complex’s Price Gymnasium in Mantua last Saturday afternoon.
“We did so many good things and it is so hard when matches go five sets,” said Coach Brittany Dye. “I am so proud of the effort we gave. Personally I felt we could have won in four sets but we are also really young and only have one senior so to go up against Dennison, who won the conference championship two years ago, but is a really good match for us.”
The Terriers (5-12, 1-1) were on the verge of staging an upset against the 2021 NCAC champions, holding an 18-15 advantage in the fourth set but a single call changed the momentum.
Dennison stormed back to take a 21-19 lead, fueled by the offense of freshman outside hitter Claire Hamilton, and extended its lead to 22-19 when the Terriers were called for an illegal procedure on a blocking attempt.
“The ref said my blocker was over but if the setter takes it over then we are allowed to block it,” said the fifth-year coach. “You try to not let it affect you because you try to control the controllable and handle what you can handle but it is discouraging for sure because we had a good play on the ball.”
Dye acknowledged that the outcome of the match was not solely determined by that one call but with a team as young as the Terriers, the snowball effect is real.
Having graduated six seniors last season, Hiram was already down three starters then lost another one when she transferred schools in the spring. One other player suffered a season-ending injury, and the team then only had two players with significant match experience and only one active senior on the roster.
According to Dye, despite Hiram’s lack of experience, her players have been nothing if not adaptable to changing circumstances this season.
“Dennison has been on this stage before and we have not yet,” she added. “Our record does not reflect how good we are in my opinion. We have had a lot of injuries and a lot of adversity but the fact we were able to push it to five against a good team, hopefully means we will be able to pull it out next time.”
The Big Red won the fourth set 25-21, forcing a decisive fifth set and continued to overwhelm Hiram, racing out to a 14-4 lead sparked by a 7-1 run.
After junior middle hitter Cailey Johns’ serve hit the net, the Terriers responded with a 4-0 surge led by junior middle blocker Emily Richardon, who recorded two aces but the Terriers’ comeback ended when senior outside hitter Sophia Sobota spiked the match-winning kill.
“It was really important for us to rally,” said the 6-foot Richardson. “When it is 14-4, it is really important to rally and keep the ball so we can win. We did not get it but we got a lot of points when they had 14 and we had a little bit of a comeback.”
In the first set, the Terriers showed they were ready for the challenge by staging a 7-0 run to overcome a 13-11 deficit and take an 18-13 lead, taking advantage of some unforced Dennison errors and the ball control of junior middle blocker Cate Maguire, who had three kills during Hiram’s run.
Hiram kept the momentum, outscoring the Big Red by a 7-5 margin to win the first set but Dennison used a 12-4 surge in the second set to storm back into the match, tying the score at 1-1 and going on to win the set 25-20.
In the third set, the Terriers’ front row dominated by using a 10-5 scoring spree to pull ahead 20-15 and won 25-21.
The Terriers held the lead at the beginning of the fourth set, fending off several Dennison rallies but the Big Red came alive in crunch time, overtaking Hiram with a 10-3 run to force the fifth set and kept the tide in their favor.
“I think that we did a good job holding our own but their outside hitters overwhelmed us,” Richardson said. “Their outside hitters were pretty good. We really wanted to come into this and win this and we put up a good fight and if we see them again, I think we can beat them next time.”
After hosting Washington and Jefferson College on Wednesday night, the Terriers will travel to face NCAC conference foe DePauw University in Greencastle, IN on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
For more photo coverage from Hiram’s volleyball game against Dennison visit Anton Albert’s gallery at antonalbertphotography.com. Remember to mention the Weekly Villager when booking your portrait session with Anton.
