ALLIANCE, Ohio — No. 11 ranked Mount Union, the top seed in the Ohio Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament, swept Marietta College 3-0 Tuesday (Nov. 4) evening in the first round. The Purple Raiders posted set scores of 26-24, 25-15 and 25-8 to eliminate the Pioneers. Marietta finishes the season with a 10-20 overall record.
Marietta came out swinging in the first set and built a 10-2 lead. Juniors
Chloe Janson (Lawrenceburg, Ind./East Central) and
Kennedy Clyde (Chagrin Falls/Hawken School) and freshman
Erica Denallo (Independence/Independence) had two kills apiece in the early rally.
The Purple Raiders methodically worked its way back into the set leveling the score at 17-17 on a kill by Caitlyn Synek. Mount Union scored four straight points and forced the Pioneers to call a timeout trailing 19-17.
The set remained close with ties at 21, 23 and 24. A pair of kills from Nicole Snyder gave Mount Union the set 26-24.
Mount Union never trailed in the second and third sets as the Raiders advanced to the semifinals.
Junior
Devin Walter (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) led the Pioneers with seven kills. Janson and Denallo each finished with five kills, while Clyde had four. Walter also posted a team-best two blocks.
Senior setter
Laura Mauer (Terre Haute, Ind./North) finished her career in the Navy Blue and White with 23 assists and 11 digs on the night. Defensive specialist
Julia Moskaluk (Copley/Revere) posted 15 digs and libero
Mary Ervin (Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange) finished with 14 digs.
Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.