AUSTINTOWN, Ohio — The Ohio Athletic Conference office officially released its soccer and volleyball tournament seedings Sunday (Nov. 1) afternoon with first round games slated to begin Tuesday (Nov. 3). Marietta College's men's soccer and volleyball programs earned the right to compete in the year-end tournament with an automatic bid to NCAA Division III postseason play on the line.

The men's soccer team (6-12-1, 4-5 OAC) received the fifth seed and will open the 6-team OAC Tournament at fourth-seeded Heidelberg University (9-7-2, 4-4-1 OAC)  on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The two teams battled for 99 minutes on Oct. 3 in Tiffin with the Student Princes pulling out the 2-1 overtime victory.

Led by 12th-year Head Coach Patrick Holguin, Marietta will make its fourth overall and third-straight trip to the OAC Tournament. The Pioneers, who also competed in 1997, dropped their opening game at third-seeded John Carroll University in 2007. Last year, the fourth-seeded squad defeated the fifth-seeded Student Princes 4-1 at Marietta Field and then upset top-seeded Capital University 2-1 in overtime to advance to the OAC Tournament Championship against third-seeded Ohio Northern University. The Pioneers' tournament run ended with a 3-0 loss to the Polar Bears.

Marietta enters averaging 0.89 goals, while allowing an average of 1.26 goals in 2009. The Pioneers have played 13 games that have been decided by 1 goal and are just 4-9 in those contests. Senior forward Kyle Muth (Twinsburg, Twinsburg) leads Marietta in points with 12. The Pioneer's fifth-leading scorer all-time has collected 5 goals and 2 assists in 2009 to give him 31 career goals, one shy of fourth place on Marietta's career scoring list. Senior midfielder Deric McDonald (Vienna, W.Va., Parkersburg) sits second in scoring with 3 goals and 4 assists despite missing 6 games with an injury. Sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Shannon (Cincinnati, Mariemont) has allowed 23 goals (1.19 GAA) and made 100 saves with 4 shutout in 1,740 minutes between the posts.

Heidelberg, under the helm of 21st-year Head Coach Brian Haley, is making its 12th OAC Tournament appearance, having previously participated in the tournament in 1993-96, 1998-2002 and 2007-08. The Student Princes are 2-10-1 all-time in OAC Tournament action, having finished runner-up in both 1995 and 1998. Only John Carroll has qualified for the OAC Tournament more often than Heidelberg. In 2007, second-seeded Heidelberg fell 2-1 to third-seeded John Carroll in overtime of the semifinal game. Last year, the fifth-seeded Student Princes fell 3-0 to the Pioneers in their opening round game.

Heidelberg is also averaging 0.89 goals, while giving up an average of 0.94 goals in 2009. Junior forward Cory Buhrman leads the Student Princes with a team-best 5 goals and 10 points. Sophomore midfielder Dillard Anu, freshman forward Grant Beck and junior midfielder Gavin McCarthy have all added 3 goals this season. Freshman goalkeeper Ryan Smith has worked all 1,683 minutes for Heidelberg. He has allowed 17 goals (0.91 GAA) and made 83 saves with 7 shutouts in 2009.

Ohio Northern University captured the regular season title and the top seed in the 2009 OAC Tournament. Capital University is the second seed. Both the Polar Bears and Crusaders earned a bye in the first round and await the winners of the two quarterfinal games. The other first round match-up pits sixth-seeded John Carroll University at third-seeded Baldwin-Wallace College. That game will take place Tuesday in Berea, Ohio, at 7 p.m. On Thursday (Nov. 5), Ohio Northern will take on the winner of the Marietta and Heidelberg game, while Capital will play the winner of the Baldwin-Wallace and John Carroll contest. The Championship Game will take place on Saturday (Nov. 7) on the campus of the highest remaining seed.

The volleyball team (18-11, 4-5 OAC) received the seventh seed and will begin the 8-team tournament at second-seeded Mount Union College (21-5, 7-2 OAC) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Purple Raiders swept the Pioneers 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-14) in their regular season meeting on Oct. 13 in Alliance.

Under the helm of third-year Head Coach Ray Costa, Marietta is making its 14th OAC Tournament appearance third in the last 4 years. The Pioneers. who are 5-13 in OAC Tournament history, have previously participated in 1984-88, 90, 96, 99-2001, 03, 06-07 and have twice finished runner-up (85, 87). Marietta's last OAC Tournament victory came against Mount Union in 2003 when the fifth-seeded Pioneers upset the fourth-seeded Purple Raiders 3-2 in the first round.

Marietta, who regularly features 2 seniors, 3 sophomores and 5 freshmen, is led offensively by freshman outside hitter Amanda Sawicki (Mentor, Lake Catholic). who has averaged 2.91 kills and is coming off a school-record 32-kill performance against John Carroll University. Sophomore outside hitter Alex Weissling (Dublin, Dublin Scioto) and sophomore right side hitter Meredith Storey (Olmsted Falls, Olmsted Falls) have also contributed 2.82 and 2.63 kills, respectively, in 2009. Freshman setter Ally Jenkins (Twinsburg, Walsh Jesuit) runs the offense and averages 8.64 assists. Marietta, keyed by Weissling, senior libero Becca Holzworth (North Olmsted, North Olmsted) and freshman outside hitter/defensive specialist Jen Braun (Chagrin Falls, Kenston), is also averaging 1.92 service aces this season.

Holzworth, Marietta's all-time leader in digs with 1,793, anchors the defense by averaging 4.74 digs in 2009. She is just 31 digs shy of 10th place on the OAC's all-time list. Braun, Jenkins and Weissling are also averaging over 2.0 digs this season. The Pioneers' defense has set a new standard for block assists this fall, having combined for 316. Freshman middle blocker Sarah Campbell (Twinsburg, Twinsburg) leads the way with 17 solo blocks and 73 block assists. Freshman middle blocker Alexa Baudo (Mentor, Mayfield) and Storey have added 65 and 55 total blocks, respectively.

Mount Union, led by fourth-year Head Coach Leigh Ann Matesich, is making its 20th overall and 13th straight OAC Tournament appearance. The Purple Raiders have previously participated in the OAC Tournament in 1984-85, 91-95, 97-2008. Mount Union is 12-19 all-time in OAC Tournament play and finished runner-up in 1999.

Senior outside hitter Melissa Mahnke and senior middle hitter Sarah Parker anchor the Mount Union offense. Mahnke averages 3.41 kills, while Parker contributes an average of 2.67 kills. Sophomore Julie Radigan is the team's primary setter and is dishing out 8.64 assists per game in 2009. Junior defensive specialist Sarah Dean leads the defense by averaging 5.28 digs, while Manke is adding 3.47 digs per game. Parker and sophomore middle hitter Leah Hirsch lead the play at the net with 78 and 64 total blocks, respectively.

Heidelberg University captured the regular season title and the top seed in the 2009 OAC Tournament. The Student Princes will open against eight-seeded Muskingum. The other first round match-ups pit third-seeded Ohio Northern University against sixth-seeded John Carroll University and fourth-seeded Otterbein College against fifth-seeded Capital University. All four first round matches will take place on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The highest remaining seed will host the semifinals on Friday (Nov. 6) at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. and the finals on Saturday (Nov. 7) at 2 p.m.