MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team won a five-set thriller over Baldwin-Wallace College Friday evening. The set scores were 22-25, 28-26, 25-20, 14-25, and 15-12. With the win, the Pioneers move to 9-10 overall and 2-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Baldwin-Wallace falls to 12-9, 1-1. [Box Score]

“This was a big win against a successful team,” said head coach Ray Costa. “We have to beat teams like this if we want to host a playoff match.”

Baldwin-Wallace led the first set by as many as eight points, but the Pioneers battled back to cut the lead to one, 21-20. The Yellow Jackets responded with three straight points en route to the 25-22 win.

The roles were reversed in the second set. Marietta used an 8-1 run early in the set to take control, leading by as many as seven points. Baldwin-Wallace rallied to knot the score at 21-21. The Yellow Jackets took a 26-25 lead on a kill by junior Rachel Switalski. The Pioneers responded with three straight points to even the score at a set apiece.

The Pioneers took the third set 25-20. Baldwin-Wallace cruised to an easy victory in the fourth, 24-14, to set the stage for the fifth and deciding set.

Marietta controlled the fifth set jumping out to early 3-0 and 7-3 leads. The Yellow Jackets managed to trim the lead to two at 10-8, but the Pioneers again responded with a 4-1 run to put the match away.

Sophomore outside hitter Paige DeVriendt (Bowling Green/Bowling Green) led all attackers with 17 kills. Junior right side hitter Alex VanGundy (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) added 15 kills and a pair of service aces. Freshman setter Laura Mauer (Terre Haute, Ind./North) notched 45 assists, while junior libero Jen Braun (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) had a match-high 36 digs. Mauer added 20 digs in the winning effort.

The Pioneers are off until next Friday, October 7th when they travel to Ohio Wesleyan for a non-conference match.