MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team opened its 2019 campaign with a sweep of Franciscan University and Berea College on Friday (August 30) evening, as they hosted the BSN Sports River City Classic. The Pioneers defeated the Barons in four sets (14-25, 25-13, 25-11, 25-17) and took game two from the Mountaineers (25-14, 25-19, 25-15) to open the season with a 2-0 record.
"Today was a good start to our season. It gives us a lot to build on moving forward," said Head Coach
Kristy Newman. "It was great to see our hitter and setter connection really grow! Our defense did a great job of putting us in system, which allowed us to mix up our offense."
In game one against Franciscan, Marietta held an early 3-2 edge. The Barons responded to take an 8-3 advantage, and rode that momentum to win the first set, 25-14.
The Pioneers gained the momentum in the second set as they charged out to an 8-2 lead. The early offense was led by kills from
Hailey Fuller (Newark, Ohio/Granville), and
Alissa Ginther (Beverly, Ohio/Fort Frye). Marietta never trailed in the second set, and late kills from
Brooke Trimble (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay), and
Sam Ritenour (Jeffersonville, Ohio/Miami Trace) gave the Pioneers a 25-13 second set win.
Marietta started the third set strong with a kill from Ritenour, and a service ace from
Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm). Later in the set, a five point run put the Pioneers up 13-5 with a kill from
Maddie Nader (Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion). Marietta continued to stretch its lead and won the third frame, 25-11.
Franciscan opened the fourth set with a 4-2 edge, before the Pioneers answered with an 8-2 run, to grab a 10-6 edge behind an ace from Fuller. The set remained tight until Marietta scored six of the final seven points, to win the final set, 25-17.
The second game, against Berea, opened as a close match, with set one being tied at 7-7. The Pioneers took a commanding lead, as they rattled off 10 consecutive points. The Marietta attack was led Ritenour and
Maris Kaiser (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy), each had three kills during the run. The Pioneers won the first set, 25-14.
The second set opened as a back and forth battle. Marietta was able to take an 11-5 edge when Kaiser, Nader, and Ginther notched three straight kills. The Mountaineers battled to cut the Pioneers edge to 18-16, but back to back aces from Trimble closed the door, and Marietta won the second frame, 25-19.
The Pioneers opened the third set quickly, behind kills from Ritenour and Trimble. Marietta stretched its lead to 13-4 when
Makayla Schilling (Blacklick, Ohio/Licking Heights) notched a service ace. The Pioneers finished the game strong and won, 25-15.
The Marietta offense was led by Ritenour as she tallied 26 total kills. Ginther added to the attack with 19 kills on the day. Nader set up the offense with 69 total assists between to the two games.
April Davis (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) led the defense with 31 digs, including a game high 19 against Franciscan.
Marietta will return to the court Saturday (August 31) when they wrap up the BSN Sports River City Classic in games against Hood College at 1 p.m. and Mount St. Joseph University at 3 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.
