Marietta volleyball drops two at home tri-match
Pioneers fall 3-1 to NAIA foes Urbana and Shawnee State

Sept. 29, 2007
MARIETTA Ohio — A pair of NAIA teams visited Ban Johnson Arena Saturday (Sept. 29) afternoon for the Marietta College volleyball tri-match. The day opened with Urbana defeating host Marietta 3-1 (23-30, 30-27, 30-28, 30-27). The Blue Knights then swept Shawnee State 3-0 (30-19, 30-28, 30-21), before the Bears bounced back to beat the Pioneers 3-1 (26-30, 30-25, 30-28, 30-21).

Marietta, who has now lost three straight, dropped to 10-8 on the season.

Senior middle blocker Marissa Barnhart (Avon) and sophomore outside hitter Becca Holzworth (North Olmsted) both had a team-high 10 kills against Urbana. Barnhart and classmate defensive specialists Nikki Veigel (Canton/Canton South) added three service aces apiece.

Junior setter Caity Shirk (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) finished with 26 assists in the match.

Defensively, senior libero Casey Davis (Amanda/Amanda Clearcreek) led the way with 25 digs, while Veigel and senior defensive specialist Jessica Craig (Uniontown/Lake) both added 17 digs.

Marietta finished with 10 total blocks. Freshman outside hitter Ashley Bennett (Lancaster/Amanda Clearcreek) had three solo blocks, junior middle blocker Sarah Vadaj (Streetsboro/Kent Roosevelt) added two solo blocks and two block assists, and Barnhart and senior right side hitter Paige Williams (Richmond, Ind.) added a pair of block assists each.

Barnhart also led the team in kills in the second match. She had 13 kills to go along with another service ace. Holzworth, who had two service aces, and Williams both added 11 kills in the match. Shirk finished with 43 assists in the four games.

Davis collected a team-high 19 kills against the Bears, while Holzworth added 13 and Veigel finished with nine. Barnhart paced the front line with two block assists, while Vadaj had a solo block and a block assist.

Marietta now turns its complete attention to the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Pioneers have eight matches remaining, all against OAC opponents. The first will take place Tuesday (Oct. 2) when Marietta travels to Wilmington for a 7 p.m. match.