On Saturday, Sept. 23, the Wooster women’s volleyball team squared off against the Hiram College Terriers in their first North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) match of the season. Coming into the game winning three of their last four matches and owning a 6-5 overall record, the Scots hoped to capitalize on their momentum against Hiram. However, the Terriers gave the Scots all they could handle and more, serving Wooster a loss in three straight sets.
After competing only in non-conference matches, Wooster’s battle with NCAC opponent Hiram at the Timken Gymnasium presented a new challenge. “The environment of the Hiram match was different in the sense that the stakes felt higher and there was more on the line,” Caroline Dillard ’24 explained. “Our team did a lot of mental preparation in addition to the physical aspect.”
Hiram challenged the Scots’ mental and physical toughness early on, quickly establishing a 20-12 lead in the first set. Despite facing this early deficit, Wooster showed their perseverance and continued to battle. The Scots notched three straight points thanks to kills by Jordan Laraway ’27 and Amelia Mitchell ’25, as well as an attack error by the Terriers’ Amber Fox ’24. Unfortunately for the Scots, Hiram won five of the next seven points to secure the first set.
Although Hiram won the first set, the Terriers had self-inflicted wounds to start the second set. Wooster’s first three points of the set came thanks to back-to-back attack errors by Hiram’s Karissa Zelenak ’26 and a service error by Brooke Norris ’26. Hiram reasserted control of the set by rattling off seven of the next eight points to take an 11-4 lead. Just like the first set, however, the Scots fought back.
Wooster overcame this deficit in large part due to a six-point Scots’ run, powered by four Dillard kills, one Mitchell kill and an attack error by Zelenak. After this run enabled the Scots to tie the set at 16, Wooster and Hiram matched point for point. With the score 21-21, Hiram stepped up and notched four straight points to secure a 25-21 victory.
Like the second set, the third set started with competitive play. The Scots began the set only trailing by a score of 8-6 thanks to two kills by Mitchell and one kill by Ty Thompson ’24, Troy Johnson ’24 and Tamara Turner ’25, respectively. After this point, the Terriers took control, outscoring the Scots 17-4 to secure the set and match.
To Dillard, playing Hiram benefitted the team because the match gave “great insight into how much tougher conference play is as opposed to out of conference matches.” Dillard — whose nine kills during the match tied Mitchell for the team best — emphasized the importance of perseverance in future matches. She described in-conference matches as “much more tooth-and-nail and [thus] a lot more grit is necessary to come out on top.”
While the Scots fell short against Hiram, their comeback in the second set demonstrated that they have the resolve needed to succeed in the NCAC this season. In fact, the loss to Hiram may catapult Wooster to success in future matches. As Dillard declared, the loss to Hiram has not demoralized the Scots, but only “given us more fuel to the fire.” If the Scots channel their determination into their upcoming matches, the sky is the limit.
Wooster plays back-to-back matches against DePauw University and Otterbein University in the familiar confines of Timken Gymnasium on Saturday, Sept. 30.