ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team dropped its Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) match against the University of Mount Union, 3-0 (29-27, 25-22, 25-19) on Tuesday (Oct. 22). The win improves the Purple Raiders record to 20-6 overall and 5-1 in the OAC, and with the loss the Pioneers fall to 13-13 overall and 2-4 in conference play.
Marietta opened the game by scoring the first two points, behind kills from
Alissa Ginther (Beverly, Ohio/Fort Frye) and
Sam Ritenour (Jeffersonville, Ohio/Miami Trace). Mount Union scored six of the next seven points and took a 6-3 edge. The Purple Raiders maintained their lead and led, 16-13. The Pioneers answered with four consecutive points to take a 17-16 advantage. The run was highlighted by kills from Ritenour and
Maris Kaiser (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy). Marietta maintained a 23-20 edge, but Mount Union responded to tie the set at 25-25, and the Purple Raiders won the set, 29-27.
The second set was close early, as the set was tied three times and remained deadlocked at 5-5. Mount Union rattled off six straight points and led, 11-5. The Purple Raiders continued to play well and led, 19-12 before the Pioneers scored five of the next six points to cut the lead to 20-17, behind kills from Kaiser and Ritenour. Marietta battled for the remainder of the set, but fell 25-22.
Mount Union opened the third set quick, when they led, 7-3. The Pioneers answered to score five of the next six points, and tied the set at eight points apiece. The offense was a well-rounded attacked as
Hailey Fuller (Newark, Ohio/Granville), Ginther, and
Maddie Nader (Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion) had kills during the run. Neither team was able to extend a lead through the middle of the set and the third set remained tied at 17-17. The Purple Raiders scored eight of the final 10 points and won the final set, 25-19.
Marietta was led by Ginther as she had 12 kills, and a block assist in the match. Ritenour added to the Pioneers attack with 10 kills, and a pair of blocks in the game. The defense was led by the duo of
April Davis (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) and
Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm). The pair each tallied 13 digs in the game. Kaiser had a game high in blocks with four total, as she had a pair of solo blocks and a pair of block assists.
Marietta will return to the court Saturday (Oct. 26) when they travel to play John Carroll University, with the game scheduled to begin at 1 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.
