GAMBIER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College and Hiram College volleyball teams matched up for a North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) clash on Wednesday night, and the teams put together a tightly contested five-set thriller in Tomsich Arena. The Owls (3-17, 0-4 NCAC) led two sets to one, but the Terriers (8-14, 2-2 NCAC) took the final two sets to earn a 3-2 comeback win.

The first two sets were a back-and-forth battle, matching the tug-of-war nature of the match. Neither team could pull away in set one as Kenyon led 15-13, but a 6-0 run forced two Hiram timeouts and had the Owls up 21-13. However, Hiram responded with a 7-0 run, but Kenyon maintained its edge and locked in to close the set on a 5-1 spurt to go ahead 1-0 in the match after a 25-21 victory.

After Hiram and Kenyon hit .029 and .028, respectively, in set one, the teams upped the efficiency in set two. The Terriers hit .281 and built a 10-point lead at 23-13, but the Owls battled back by winning 10 of the next 11 points. However, the comeback bid came up short, as an attack error handed Hiram a 25-22 win to even the match at one set apiece.

Set three went to Kenyon as the Owls' five-point, 25-20 margin brought the home team within one set of clinching its first NCAC victory. Senior Lindsey Abramson compiled seven of her match-high 20 kills in the set, helping Kenyon out-hit Hiram .310 to .189.

However, Hiram did not hand over the match as the Terriers flipped the script to win 25-14 in set four. The visitors hit .375 while Kenyon hit .000, and Hiram benefitted from Owls' mistakes as Kenyon had 11 errors compared to the Terriers' five.

The blowout fourth frame set up a winner-take-all fifth set, and Hiram carried its momentum into the final frame. The first seven points went Hiram's way, partly thanks to four Kenyon errors. The Owls chipped away with three straight points before the teams switched sides, but a matching Terriers run had Kenyon in a 10-3 hole.

At a time when the team easily could have packed it in, the Owls came together to mount a phenomenal comeback effort. Kenyon compiled a 10-3 run that featured three points apiece from Abramson and Hannah Schwemm. The spurt tied the set at 13, but a block and an attack error ended Kenyon's hope of completing the comeback as Hiram won 15-13 to clinch the 3-2 victory.

Abramson was phenomenal in her penultimate home game, compiling career-bests with 24 points, 20 kills, and four aces. The senior hit .316 on 38 attempts, Kenyon's second-best individual percentage this season (minimum of 12 kills). She also tied a career-high with 12 digs, notching her season's second double-double.

Five Owls, Schwemm (.667), Abramson (.316), Olivia Gumz (.300), Maggie Wolf (.286), and Becca Gwynne (.207) posted hitting percentages above .200. Wolf dished out a career-high 36 assists and added 10 digs for her season's third double-double. Lauren Blakemore led Kenyon with 14 digs, and Schwemm secured 12 as four Owls reached double-digits. 

The Owls have one more outing at home this season, and Kenyon will return to Tomsich on Saturday, October 21, for the second half of its first multi-game homestand this season. The Owls will host The College of Wooster (7-12, 0-5 NCAC) at 1 p.m. when Kenyon will celebrate its Senior Day in conjunction with the team's annual Dig Pink game to support breast cancer awareness.