ALLIANCE, Ohio—The Mount Union men's volleyball team defeated Hiram College in three sets (25-22, 25-19, 25-19) Friday evening at the Timken Gymnasium.
 
The Purple Raiders (1-0) were led by senior opposite hitter Jack McClure (Massillon / Massillon Jackson) with 13 kills and sophomore middle hitter Michael Bowler (Broadview Heights / Brecksville-Broadview Heights) with 8 kills.
 
Junior setter Will Heeney (Hudson / Walsh Jesuit) led the team in assists with 24.
 
Freshman defensive specialist Peyton Koszelak (Eden, N.Y. / Eden) led the Purple Raiders in digs with 10 digs and junior defensive specialist Aaron Armour (Waukesha, Wis. / Catholic Memorial) with 7 digs.
 
Hiram College (0-1) was led by Garrett Scheidegger with 7 kills, Matthew Albano with 13 assists and 6 digs.
 
SET 1
The Purple Raiders came out strong in their first set of their season getting the first point off a kill from McClure. However, Hiram was quick to answer back going on a 3-0 scoring run to take the lead 3-1. The Purple Raiders and Hiram both refused to let the other team get the upper hand keeping the score a constant tie throughout the set. Eventually, the Purple Raiders were able to break the tie going on a 2-0 scoring run to make the score 18-16, but again Hiram was quick to stay in it and tied the game back up 18-18. The Purple Raiders again broke the tied game going on a 5-0 scoring run, with a block by Armour to secure the set 25-22.
 
SET 2
Hiram was able to bounce back from the previous set and get the first point, but Mount Union was determined to stay in it by quickly answering with a point of their own to start the set off in a 1-1 tie. Hiram was not giving up though, going on a 6-1 scoring run to take the lead 7-2 early on. Mount Union was able to take the lead going on 10-4 scoring run, led by McClure, to make the score 12-11. Mount Union was able to extend their lead going on 9-3 scoring run, led by McClure with 3 kills, making the score 21-15. Mount Union was able to take the set 25-19, off a 3-2 scoring run.
 
SET 3
The Raiders came out strong taking the lead off a 6-2 scoring run. Hiram was quick to stay in the set going on an 8-5 scoring run of their own to close the gap and make the score 11-10, with the Raiders still in the lead. Both teams continued to battle throughout the set, until the Raiders were able to breakout of the back-and-forth going on a 3-0 scoring run to keep their lead and make the score 19-14. The Raiders ended the set on a 5-3 scoring run, led by Bowler, winning the final set 25-19.
 
Mount Union will travel to Bethany, West Virginia on Tuesday, January 30th to take on Bethany College at 7 p.m.