MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College women's volleyball team defeated Wilmington College, 3-1 (25-8, 25-6, 23-25, 25-13) inside Ban Johnson Arena on Saturday (Oct. 19) afternoon. With the win the Pioneers improve to 13-12 overall and 2-3 in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play and loss drops the Quakers to 3-20 overall and 0-5 in the conference.
Marietta came out and dominated the first set. The Pioneers scored the first 13 points of the game and led 13-0. The early offense was led by
Hailey Fuller (Newark, Ohio/Granville) as she notched four kills and
Brooke Trimble (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay) as she added three kills. Marietta continued to pull away and won the first set 25-8 as Fuller and
Sam Ritenour (Jeffersonville, Ohio/Miami Trace) scored the final three points of the opening set.
The Pioneers carried their momentum over to the second set as they led 6-2.
Alissa Ginther (Beverly, Ohio/Fort Frye) and Ritenour tallied kills to propel the Marietta offense. Wilmington battled to keep the score at 11-5, before the Pioneers rattled seven straight points to take an 18-5 edge. The run was highlighted by four kills from Ginther. Marietta put the set away, as they scored the final seven points and won the second frame, 25-6.
The third set opened as a back and forth battle as the set was tied six times, and remained deadlocked at 12 points apiece. The Pioneers grabbed a 16-13 advantage when they scored four of the next five points, with kills from
Becca Phelps (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive) and
Aly Wiseman (London, Ohio/Bishop Ready). Marietta extended its lead to 20-14, but Wilmington answered to tie the third set at 22-22. The Quakers took the third set, 25-23.
The fourth set was close early as Wilmington led, 7-5. The Pioneers responded and rattled off 10 straight points to take a 15-7 edge. The run was sparked by a well-rounded attack, with kills from Ritenour,
Maddie Nader (Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion), and
Maris Kaiser (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy). Marietta finished the fourth and final set strong and won, 25-13.
The Pioneers were led by the duo of Ginther and Ritenour as they tied for a game high 12 kills, and each tallied a block assist in the match. The defense was led by
April Davis (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) as she notched 23 digs, and tied for a game high in service aces with three.
Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm) added to the defense with 11 digs, and tied Davis with three aces.
Marietta will return to the court Tuesday (Oct. 22) when they travel to take on Mount Union, with the game scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Fans can follow all of 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.
