MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball dropped a five-set match to Baldwin Wallace University, 3-2 (26-24, 25-20, 15-25, 23-25, 5-15) inside Ban Johnson Arena on Saturday (Nov. 2) afternoon. With the win the Yellow Jackets improve to 22-5 overall and 5-4 in the Ohio Athletic Conference and with the loss the Pioneers fall to 14-15 overall and 3-6 in conference play.
Baldwin Wallace jumped out to an early 4-1 lead to open the match. Marietta answered to take an 8-5 advantage, the rally was sparked by a pair of kills from
Alissa Ginther (Beverly, Ohio/Fort Frye) and kills from
Sam Ritenour (Jeffersonville, Ohio/Miami Trace) and
Maddie Nader (Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion). The Yellow Jackets battled back and tied the set at 15 points apiece. The teams remained deadlocked at 24-24 before the Ginther notched a kill and block assist with
Maris Kaiser (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy), to win 26-24.
The Pioneers carried their momentum over to the second set as they led, 5-1 behind an ace from
Brooke Trimble (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay) and a kill from Ritenour. Marietta maintained a 9-5 edge and forced a Baldwin Wallace timeout. Out of the timeout the Yellow Jackets trimmed the lead to 9-8 but The Pioneers responded with a 6-0 run to take a 15-8 lead with an ace from
Makayla Schilling (Blacklick, Ohio/Licking Heights) and a pair of kills from
Hailey Fuller (Newark, Ohio/Granville). Marietta controlled the remainder of the set, and won the second frame, 25-20.
The third set opened as a back and forth battled, as the set was tied six times and remained deadlocked at seven points apiece. Baldwin Wallace stretched out a 16-8 edge when they scored nine of the next 10 points. The Yellow Jackets won the third set, 25-15.
The Pioneers held an early 3-1 advantage with back to back kills from Ginther and Ritenour. Marietta continued to lead 9-6 later in the set with back to back aces from
Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm). The Pioneers held their lead through the middle of the set and a solo block from Ritenour forced a Baldwin Wallace timeout, with Marietta ahead 16-12. The Yellow Jackets answered to tie the set at 19 points apiece. The set remained tied at 23-23, but back to back points from Baldwin Wallace gave them a fourth set win, 25-23.
The Yellow Jackets opened the fifth and final frame strong as they led 7-4, midway through the set. Baldwin Wallace continued to play well in the final set and won, 15- 5.
The Pioneers were led by Ritenour as she had 18 kills and two total blocks in the match. Ginther added to the offense with 13 kills and three block assists in the game. Defensively
April Davis (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) led the way with a game high 25 digs in the match. Schilling pitched in on defense with 10 digs in the match.
Marietta will return to the court Tuesday (Nov. 5) when they travel to take on Muskingum University in the Quarterfinals of the OAC tournament.
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.
