Hiram Sweeps Mount St. Joe - Sets Up Fourth Meeting With Wittenberg

Hiram 3, Mount St. Joe 0 (30-27, 30-28, 30-25)

GRAND RAPIDS —The Terriers of Hiram College battled to win three come-from-behind games against The College of Mount St. Joseph in the NCAA Division III Regional Quarterfinal match held at 3:30 p.m. at Calvin College Thursday evening. With scores of 30-27, 30-28, and 30-25, Hiram advances to Friday's Regional Semifinal match to face conference foe Wittenberg . The meeting will be the fourth of the year between the two conference rivals with Wittenberg having won the first two meetings and Hiram having won the latest meeting – a five-set thriller last Saturday night.

The Lions of Mount St. Joseph held early leads in games one and two, but Hiram closed both gaps with mid-game ties. After tying 19-19 in the first game, Hiram jumped out to a 20-24 lead, but allowed Mount St. Joseph to tie again at 26-26 before securing the game. After catching up to the Lions at 16-16 in game two, Hiram soon found a five-point 22-17 lead. Strong blocking was a big factor in Hiram's coming back and maintaining a lead.

Mount St. Joseph held off the Terriers longer in game three, leading by as many as five points, until allowing Hiram to tie at 25-25. After that point, Hiram rallied on a 5-0 scoring run that included three blocks and three kills to win 30-25.

Leading Mount St. Joseph in defeat were Katie Feldkamp with 16 kills, and Becky Breetz with 12 kills, Anna Richter with 10 kills and 10 digs. Katie Playko had 50 assists and 14 digs, while Claire Alfers had 19 digs and Brooke Sparks added 13 digs.

For Hiram, Michelle Kozempa had a team-high 14 kills, followed by Katie Moore with 10 kills. Megan Taylor dished out 36 assists while contributing 12 digs. Leah Schaffer led the defense with 19 digs while Jill Howard and Jennifer Hlebovy had 17 digs apiece. Hiram tallied up 13 team blocks to Mount St. Joseph 's one.

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