TIFFIN, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team was in action Saturday (Sept. 28) afternoon as they dropped a pair of matches with Mount St. Joseph University and Bluffton University. The Pioneers dropped the opening match to the Lions, 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-17), and fell in game two to the Beavers, 3-1 (25-16, 16-25, 19-25, 21-25).
Mount St. Joseph jumped out to an early 5-0 lead to open the first set. Marietta halted the run with a kill by
Brooke Trimble (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay). The set remained tight at 12-8, before the Lions rattled off four straight points to take a 16-8 edge. The Pioneers trimmed the lead to three points a couple of times but fell, 25-21.
The second set opened as a close battle, but Mount St. Joseph led 7-6. The early Marietta offense was led by
Alissa Ginther (Beverly, Ohio/Fort Frye),
Sam Ritenour (Jeffersonville, Ohio/Miami Trace), and
Becca Phelps (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive) as they each had kills. The Lions extended their lead throughout the middle of the set, and won the second frame, 25-15.
The third set was tied at 2-2 to open the final frame. The early offense from the Pioneers was provided by a kill from
Maris Kaiser (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy). Mount St. Joseph played well and extended a 16-9 edge. Marietta battled but fell in the final set, 25-17.
The first set of the second match remained deadlocked at four points apiece before the Pioneers notched six straight points, to take an 10-4 advantage, with kills from
Maddie Nader (Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion), Kaiser, and Ritenour. Marietta finished the first set strong and won, 25-16.
The Beavers opened the second set, as they scored four of the first five points to grab a 4-1 edge. Bluffton extended its edge through the middle of the set and led 16-9. The Beavers won the second set, 25-16.
The third set opened as a back and forth battle, as the set was tied four times and remained tied at 7-7. The early Pioneers offense was sparked by kills from Kaiser and Phelps. Marietta opened up an 11-8 lead when they scored four of the next five points. The run was highlighted by a block by Kaiser and Nader. Bluffton answered to take a 14-12 edge, and forced a Pioneers timeout. The Beavers finished off the third set and won, 25-19.
The teams traded points to open the fourth set as the match was tied three times and remained deadlocked at 5-5. The Pioneers were able to open a 9-6 edge behind a kill from
Makayla Schilling (Blacklick, Ohio/Licking Heights) and a service ace from
April Davis (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora). Later in the set, Marietta stretched out an 18-14 edge with kills by Schilling and Phelps. Bluffton answered with four straight points to tie the set at 18 points apiece, and won the final frame, 25-21.
The Pioneers offense was led by Ritenour as she had 20 kills between the two matches. Kaiser added to the offense with 12 kills on the day. The defense was led by Davis as she had 30 total digs on the day. She had a game high 17 digs against Bluffton, and a game high 13 digs against Mount St. Joseph.
Marietta will return to the court Tuesday (Oct. 1) when they host the College of Wooster with the game scheduled to start 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.
