GAMBIER, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team earned a road victory over Kenyon College on Wednesday (Sept. 11) evening. The Pioneers defeated the Ladies, 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 27-25) to improve to 8-1 on the season.
The first set started as a back and forth battle, as the set was tied seven times and remained deadlocked at 9-9. Kenyon was able to stretch out their largest lead of the set at 16-13. Marietta answered to tie the set at 17 points apiece. The Pioneers put the first set away with three straight points to gain a 24-20 edge. The final Marietta push was led by a kill from
Sam Ritenour (Jeffersonville, Ohio/Miami Trace) and a service ace from
Hailey Fuller (Newark, Ohio/Granville), to win the first set 25-21.
The Pioneers rode their first set momentum to an early 7-1 edge in the second set. Marietta had a well-rounded attack early as Fuller,
Alissa Ginther (Beverly, Ohio/Fort Frye), and
Brooke Trimble (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay) all tallied kills. The Pioneers continued their strong play and extended the lead to 18-11 behind kills from Ritenour, Ginther, and
Maris Kaiser (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy). Marietta finished off the second set, and won 25-14.
The Ladies opened the third set quickly as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead. The Pioneers answered back to tie the game at 4-4 with a service ace from
Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm). The middle of the third set was a hard fought battle, as neither team was able to take a lead of more than four points, and the set was tied at 25 points apiece. Marietta rattled off the final two points of the match with kills by Ginther, and Trimble to win the final set, 27-25.
The Pioneers offense was led by Ginther as she notched a game high 14 kills, and added a pair of block assists. Fuller and Kaiser added fire power with seven kills apiece.
April Davis (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) led the defense as she tallied a game high 11 digs. Fuller and
Makayla Schilling (Blacklick, Ohio/Licking Heights) each added eight digs in the match.
Marietta will return to the court Friday (Sept. 13) when they travel to compete in the Earlham Quaker Classic. The first game of the tournament is at 4 p.m. against Spalding.
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.
