HIRAM, Ohio -- The Kenyon College volleyball team could not continue its strong start to North Coast Athletic Conference competition, falling 3-0 with set scores of 25-18, 25-21, 25-17 on the road against Hiram College (10-7, 1-2 NCAC).

Hiram took the first set 25-18 thanks to a significant advantage in offensive output. The Terriers held a 16-3 edge in kills while hitting .204 compared to Kenyon's -.077 mark. The Owls stayed close thanks to Hiram's six service errors while going errorless themselves, but the Terriers took the final six points to clinch the early 1-0 lead.

It was more of the same in set two, as the Owls committed just one service error while benefiting off of four from Hiram. Kenyon improved its hitting percentage to .140 after notching 11 kills and five errors in 43 attempts, but the Terriers won 25-21 after going 13-42 with an error, a .286 clip.

The Terriers took a 5-0 lead set three, forcing an early Owls' timeout. Hiram pushed the lead to 11-3, but Kenyon won five of the following seven points to pull back within five at 13-8. The Owls cut the deficit to four at 17-13, but Hiram pulled away with an 8-4 stretch to clinch the set 25-17 and the match 3-0.

For the match, Hiram hit .245 while holding Kenyon to .076. The Terriers made 21 more attacks (139-118) and notched 23 more kills (45-22), while the Owls committed two more errors (13-11). Hiram held a 10-6 edge in aces, but the service game benefited Kenyon as Hiram had a dozen more serving errors (14-2).

First-year Kathryn McCaffrey led Kenyon with a .400 hitting percentage and tied Lindsey Abramson, a junior, for the team lead with six kills. Jac Cousineau, a senior, and Maggie Wolf, a first-year, paced Kenyon with eight assists apiece. First-year Elizabeth Sonza tallied a team-high 24 digs, while Cousineau added 10.

The Owls (2-13, 1-1 NCAC) take a break from NCAC play with a two-game road trip to Lynchburg, Virginia. Kenyon will play twice on Saturday, Oct. 8, once at 10 a.m. against Randolph College (9-8, 1-5 ODAC) and once at noon against the University of Lynchburg (6-8, 2-3 ODAC).