ALLIANCE, Ohio – Mount Union's men's volleyball team defeated Hiram in a non-conference matchup in four sets 25-19, 25-14, 20-25, 25-17 on Tuesday evening.
The Purple Raiders (5-3) were led by freshman
Luke Pemberton (Jackson) who recorded 10 kills and freshman
Ryan Lippert (Twinsburg / Walsh Jesuit) who had nine. Senior
Peyton Koszelak (Eden, N.Y. / Eden) led the way with 13 digs, while freshman
Justin Peters (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Canon-McMillan) led the way with 31 assists.
The Terriers (2-3) were led by Derek Chiang who had 10 kills, Cullen Sivak who had nine digs and eight kills and Kekoa Tani who had 31 assists.
Mount Union would jump out to a quick 5-1 lead to open the first set before Hiram would score three straight to cut the lead to one. The teams would go back and forth until the Raiders would close the first set on a 9-4 run after leading 16-15 to take the first set 25-19. Mount Union would jump out to a 13-3 lead to open the second set and didn't look back as the closest that the Terriers were able to get over the remainder of the set was five, as they would go on to take set two 25-14.
Hiram would take a 7-4 lead to open the third set, the Raiders would answer with a 6-3 run to tie the set at 10 apiece. Both teams would go back and forth over the next several points before Hiram would go on a 9-2 run to take a 22-15 lead and would go on to take the third set 25-20. The Raiders would go on to take a 6-0 lead to start set four, the Terriers would comeback to cut the lead to just two at 8-6 but that is as close as they would get as the Mount Union would go on to take the set 25-17 and win the match in four sets.
The Raiders hit the road next as they travel to Chicago, Ill. to take on North Park on Friday, February 6 at 2 p.m. CT / 3 p.m. ET, followed by Aurora at 4:30 p.m. CT / 5:30 p.m. ET.