FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Marietta College volleyball team improved to 6-0 on the season as they took down Anderson College in straight sets, 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-19) at the Franklin College Tournament on Friday (Sept. 6) evening. The 6-0 mark by the Pioneers is tied for the best start to a season since 2012.
The first set started as a back and forth battle, as the match was tied or the lead changed hands 15 times and the set remained tied at 13 points apiece. Anderson rattled off five straight points and led, 18-13. Marietta battled back to tie the set at 20-20 behind a pair of service aces from
Hailey Fuller (Newark, Ohio/Granville). The Pioneers continued their strong play and won the first set, 25-23.
Marietta jumped out to an early 5-1 edge, with kills from Fuller,
Maddie Nader (Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion), and
Maris Kaiser (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy). The Ravens answered with a 5-0 run to take a 6-5 edge. The second set stayed close, and was tied at 21 points apiece. The Pioneers rattled off the final four points of the set, and won 25-21. The final points were scored when
Sam Ritenour (Jeffersonville, Ohio/Miami Trace), and Fuller notched kills, and Nader had an ace.
Marietta was able to take an early 11-6 edge in the final set which forced an Anderson timeout. Four Pioneers tallied a kill early in the set, as
Alissa Ginther (Beverly, Ohio/Fort Frye),
Brooke Trimble (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay), Ritenour, and Fuller all had kills. The Ravens fought back and cut the Marietta lead to 17-16. The Pioneers put the game away with a 6-1 run, which was sparked by a kill and ace from Trimble. Marietta won the decisive set 25-19.
The Pioneer offense was led by Ginther as she tied for a match high nine kills. Ritenour added to the offense with eight kills and a pair of blocks. Defensively, Marietta was led by
April Davis (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) as she had a game high 16 digs.
Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm) pitched in with 11 digs in the match.
The Pioneers will return to the court Saturday (Sept. 7) when they play a pair of matches to wrap up the Franklin College Tournament. The first game of the day is at 10 a.m. against Oglethorpe University.
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.
