MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team battled with 12th ranked Ohio Northern University Friday (Oct. 4) evening inside Ban Johnson Arena. The Polar Bears defeated the Pioneers 3-1 (18-25, 25-21, 15-25, 14-25), the win improves Ohio Northern's record to 14-3 overall and 2-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference and the loss drops Marietta's record to 11-10 and 0-2 in the OAC.
The first set saw the Polar Bears jump out to a 3-0 edge before the Pioneers rattled off three straight points to draw even. The early Marietta offense was led by kills from
Becca Phelps (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive) and
Sam Ritenour (Jeffersonville, Ohio/Miami Trace). The teams battled through the middle of the opening frame and the set remained tied at 14 points apiece. Ohio Northern scored nine of the next 10 points and went on to win the set, 25-18.
The Polar Bears were able to grab an early 8-3 lead to open the second set. The Pioneers responded to score five straight points and tied the set at 8-8. The Marietta run was led by kills from
Alissa Ginther (Beverly, Ohio/Fort Frye) and
Maddie Nader (Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion). Neither team was able to extend a lead and Ohio Northern led 19-18 late in the set. The Pioneers rattled off the next four points to secure a 22-19 advantage behind a pair of kills from Ginther. Marietta held on to win the second set, 25-21.
The third set opened as a back and forth battle, as the set was tied five times and remained deadlocked at 8-8. The Pioneers battled through the middle of the set, but a 4-0 run late in the third set put the Polar Bears on top 20-13. Ohio Northern won the third set, 25-15.
Marietta led the fourth and final set early as they notched a 4-3 advantage behind kills from
Hailey Fuller (Newark, Ohio/Granville),
Maris Kaiser (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy), and Ritenour. The Polar Bears battled back and took a 13-8 edge. Ohio Northern played well down the stretch and won the fourth and final set, 25-14.
The Pioneers were led by Ginther as she had a game high 18 kills, and tallied a pair of block assists. Ritenour pitched in with 10 kills and had a game high three solo blocks.
Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm) led the defense with a game high 24 digs.
April Davis (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) added to the defense with 21 digs in the match.
Marietta will return to the court Wednesday (Oct. 9) when they travel to take on Otterbein University, 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.
