MARIETTA, Ohio – The pairings are set for the 2011 Ohio Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament and Marietta College is seeded seventh. The Pioneers will travel to Westerville for a battle with the No. 2 seed Otterbein Cardinals in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, November 1, at 7 p.m. [
OAC Volleyball Tournament Website]
Marietta, 14-15 overall and 4-5 in the OAC, lost to Otterbein during the regular season in straight sets. The Cardinals, 25-4 overall and 8-1 OAC, defeated the Pioneers 25-13, 25-16, and 25-17.
Offensively, the Pioneers are led by a trio of attackers. Junior right-side hitter #
Alex VanGundy (Powell/Olentangy Liberty)# has a team-high 256 kills, while sophomore outside hitter #
Paige DeVriendt (Bowling Green/Bowling Green)# has 250 and sophomore middle blocker #Kathryn Hanssen# has 205. Freshman setter #
Laura Mauer (Terre Haute, Ind./North)# is averaging 8.9 assists per set.
Junior libero #
Jen Braun (Chagrin Falls/Kenston)# averages 5.24 digs per set and has a team-best 64 service aces. At the net, Hanssen is tops on the squad with 83 blocks, while #
Natalie Lanham (Charleston, W.Va./George Washington)# has recorded 75 blocks on the season.
Otterbein will counter with sophomore outside hitter Annie Juenger and junior middle hitter Ally Nagle, a two-time All-OAC honoree. Juenger has 280 kills on the season and Nagle has 267. Freshman Tabatha Piper is the Cardinals' starting setter and averages 10.24 assists per set.
Senior libero Lindsey Russell, a two-time All-OAC selection, averages 5.79 digs per set from the back line. Sophomore middle blocker Liz Palmer leads the team with 89 blocks, while Nagle has notched 72.
Heidelberg is the No. 1 seed and will host the No. 8 seed Muskingum. No. 3 Mount Union hosts No. 6 Capital and No. 5 Ohio Northern travels to No. 4 Baldwin-Wallace.
The four quarterfinal winners advance to the semifinals on Friday, November 4, at the highest remaining seed. The championship is slated for Saturday, November 5.
Tickets are available at the gate. For the quarterfinals, adults are $7, senior citizens (62 years old and older) are $5, non-OAC students (18 years old and under) are $2. OAC students with a valid school ID are admitted free of charge.
