HIRAM, Ohio (Feb. 25) – The Saint Vincent men's volleyball team battled through two extra-point sets Wednesday night and came away with a hard-earned 3-1 Presidents' Athletic Conference road victory over Hiram College, winning by set scores of 25-20, 25-14, 27-29, 29-27.
 
The Bearcats improved to 8-2 overall and 4-0 in PAC play, while the Terriers fell to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in conference action.
 
Saint Vincent controlled the opening two sets with steady offense and serve pressure, then had to withstand a Hiram push in the third. After the Terriers extended the match with a 29-27 win in set three, the fourth set turned into a back-and-forth battle that saw SVC close it out 29-27 to secure the match.
 
For the night, Saint Vincent totaled 59 kills on .212 hitting (59-28-146), while holding Hiram to 40 kills and .132 team hitting. The Bearcats finished with 8 aces, 55 assists, and 59 digs in the win.
 
Offensively, Zebadiah Wyant paced the Bearcats with a match-high 20 kills to go with 10 digs and two aces. Shawn McSwiggen and Owen Ward each added 14 kills, with McSwiggen also recording a team-best 12 digs and three aces, while Ward chipped in four digs and a pair of blocks.
 
Setter Jack Ryan ran the Bearcat attack with 51 assists, while also contributing 10 digs as Saint Vincent's offense stayed balanced across four sets. At the net, Braeden Artman led the way with four blocks (two solo, two assisted), and Rocco Marino added two block assists while hitting an efficient .375 with five kills on eight swings.
 
Hiram was led by Kekoa Tani (11 kills), with Colin Brooks and Liam Dwyer each adding 10 kills, but Saint Vincent's ability to win the serve-and-pass battle early and respond late in the fourth set proved to be the difference.
 
Saint Vincent returns to action on Friday, February 27 with another road PAC matchup at Geneva. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Beaver Falls.