OBERLIN, Ohio — Marietta College fought off three match points in the fourth set as the Pioneers beat Defiance College 3-2 in the opening round of the Oberlin College Tournament Friday (Sept. 8) afternoon. Marietta posted set scores of 27-25, 21-25, 10-25, 26-24 and 15-10.
Marietta (3-4 overall) battled back from a three-point deficit in the first set to win 27-25. The Pioneers then took a 7-1 lead in the second set before Defiance came storming back to grab the set, 25-21. The Yellow Jackets dominated the third set en route to a 25-10 win.
Defiance carried the momentum into the fourth set and jumped out to a 20-11 lead. The Pioneers answered with a 10-1 run to even the set, 21-21. Three straight Yellow Jacket kills made it 24-21 and left Marietta facing three match points for Defiance.
Amanda Arrowood (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Groveport Madison) slammed a kill for the Pioneers to turn back the first Yellow Jacket match point. Kills from
Sam Ritenour (Jeffersonville, Ohio/Miami Trace) and
Grace Haas (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) pulled Marietta even with Defiance at 24-24.
Hunter Barnes (Duncan Falls, Ohio/Philo) put MC in front with a kill and then Ritenour completed the comeback and forced a deciding fifth set with another kill.
The Yellow Jackets took an early 5-0 lead in the fifth set but Marietta battled back to tie the score, 6-6. The Pioneers used a 5-0 run of their own to go up 11-8 and then scored the final three points of the set for a 15-10 win to secure the match victory.
Ritenour led the Pioneers with 13 kills.
Erica Denallo (Parma, Ohio/Independence) added 12 kills and 20 digs.
Ellie Gerber (New Philadelphia, Ohio/New Philadelphia) and
Maddie Nader (Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion) split the setting duties and finished with 22 and 20 assists, respectively. Senior libero
Emily Peters (Elyria, Ohio/Keystone) had a match-high 34 digs.
The Pioneers wrap up play in the Oberlin Tournament with a pair of matches on Saturday (Sept. 9). Marietta plays Oberlin at 10 a.m. and Mount Aloysius at 2 p.m.
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.
