GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College volleyball team rallied for its 13th win of the year on Saturday as they defeated Hiram College in a North Coast Athletic Conference match at Tomsich Arena. Kenyon was down 2-1 heading into the fourth before they took that set and the fifth to push its record to 13-5 and 3-1 in NCAC play.
 
Prior to competition, seniors Bridget Murdoch, Camille Pipino and Alexandra Hansen were honored for their careers at Kenyon.
 
Virtually every set was close on Saturday between the Terriers and Ladies who struggled offensively combining for 62 errors and hitting .086 and .181, respectively.
 
The first set was extended as the Ladies got a 26-24 win to start the day. Neither team had a lead bigger than three points during the opening stanza. Hiram was a point away from stealing the first after a Kenyon attack error gave the visitors a 24-23 advantage. But the Ladies regrouped and scored on a kill from Mackenzie Bruzzio and two errors to aid them.


 
Hiram got out to a 6-0 lead with Laura Kelly serving in set two before the Ladies came back. Schuyler Stupica's kill pushed the home team up 13-11 about midway through the second. Later, Kenyon was within striking distance of going up two sets as they led 23-21. However, Hiram scored four in a row on two kills and two Kenyon errors to tie the match.
 
In the third, Hiram held a 23-18 lead before a 4-0 Kenyon spurt, highlighted by two Delaney Swanson kills, pulled the Ladies to within one. That momentum didn't continue though as a Marissa Jay kill and Kelly ace pushed Hiram ahead 2-1 in the match.
 
Needing to win the fourth, Kenyon did just that. Down 6-3 early, the Ladies tied the match at 9 after another kill by Swanson. That was part of a 6-0 run for Kenyon who went up 13-9 after a Terriers error. Later in the set, the Ladies went up 20-12 after another error. Kenyon eventually prevailed 25-16.
 
With the match tied 2-2, Kenyon prevailed in the fifth.  A kill from Hiram's Grace Wilson tied it at 4 before Kenyon scored three straight which forced a Terriers timeout. Hiram tied the match at 9 a few sequences later on an ace from Madison Fortune. But after that, Kenyon retook the lead, this time for good, with back-to-back kills from Swanson. Sophomore teammate Alexi Donnelly then ended the match with a kill along the left side sending the Ladies into celebration.
 
Next up for Kenyon is a trip to Decatur, Illinois to face Greenville College and Westminster College (PA) on October 7 starting at 4:30 p.m.