HIRAM, Ohio – The Adrian College men's volleyball team got back in the win column by defeating Hiram 3-1 in the Bulldogs' second match of the Hiram Invitational on Friday, Jan. 18. Senior Mike Gold's defensive effort set a new program record for block assists with seven.

THE BASICS

Final Score: Adrian 3, Hiram 1 (19-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-18)

Location: Hiram, Ohio (Price Gymnasium)

Records: AC 3-3, HC 0-1

HOW IT HAPPENED

Just like the earlier match, it would be the losing team that takes the first set. It was close throughout most of the set but Hiram pulled away late, winning five points in a row on the way to a 25-19 opening set win. The Terriers had the lead early in the second set, but Adrian pulled away and didn't look back for the rest of the match. The Bulldogs took the second set 25-21 and didn't have any more trouble going forward, heating up as the match went on.

The third set was the least close, with AC winning 25-16. Adrian hit .296% in the third frame while Hiram hit .000%. Junior Noah Marcinkowski led the way in the third, finishing with seven of the team's 12 kills in the set. The Black and Gold continued to improve in the fourth set, hitting .345% on the way to the win. The final point was obtained on a sneaky kill from junior setter Joseph Campana, one of his four kills in the match. The win was a nice bounce back for the Bulldogs after dropping match one of the invitational minutes earlier in a five-set loss to Geneva.

QUOTABLE

"It was nice to see our team be resilient and take care of business against Hiram. That's been our theme so far this season. It's all about how we react to a tough call or tough match. We are learning how to bounce back and it's a fun process to watch." - Head Coach Zak Krug

TOP DOGS

• Marcinkowski led the offense with 17 kills, while freshman Tedrick Gula added another 14.

• Campana totaled 41 assists to go along with his four kills.

• Gold was huge at the net, having a hand in eight blocks (one solo, seven assists). His seven block assists are a new program record while his eight total blocks match the previous record set by Avery Johnson last season.

THE OPPOSITION

• Tom Supan was the only Hiram play to have double digit kills, finishing with 14.

• Jake Linger and Andrew Diaz shared the setting duties, finishing with 22 and 17 assists, respectively.

• Cory Fischer led the Terriers' defense with 10 digs while Andrew Gard assisted on six blocks.

UP NEXT

Adrian finishes play in the Hiram Invitational tomorrow morning with a 9 a.m. match against Thomas More.

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