Hiram Sweeps DePauw To Move Into Ninth Straight NCAC Championship Match

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — For the ninth straight year, the Hiram Terriers have reached the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament championship match after defeating DePauw, 3-0, in the semifinals.

The win moved the Terriers, the tourney's No. 2 seed after finishing second in the NCAC regular season standings with an 13-3 record, to 26-7 overall. Third-seeded DePauw saw its first season as an NCAC member end with records of 21-12 overall and 11-5 in the conference regular season, good for a third-place tie with Wooster.

Two statistical areas stand out in the final analysis of the match, won by Hiram by set scores of 25-19, 25-18, 25-17. First, Hiram held a commanding 9-1 advantage in service aces. Second, the Terriers held a 10-3 advantage in team blocks. Combined, those 15 points account for most of the difference on the scoreboard.

DePauw led the opening set 18-15 when Hiram called a timeout. The Terriers responded with a stunning eight-point burst to completely turn the match around. Hiram's Ariel Pund served out seven of those points, recording a trio of aces.

DePauw never recovered, although the Tigers did move out to a 9-6 lead early in the second set. Pund again served the Terriers back into the lead as Hiram won nine of the next 12 points to take control. DePauw fell behind early in the third set as Hiram efficiently closed the match out.

Hiram's Shaina Bryan, the 2010 NCAC Player of the Year, led both teams with 13 kills and a .417 attack percentage. She added 18 digs. Also of note for the Terriers was the play of Taylor Summerfield with 26 assists and Katie Rumora with five kills and six blocks. Regina Zyle led the defense with 19 digs.

DePauw was led offensively by Abby Balbach with eight kills, while Brianna Holder dished out 29 assists. Tori Bowerman led the defense with 11 digs, and Hannah Nelson topped the team in blocks with three, to go along with seven kills.