MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team earned a hard fought five set win (25-19, 29-31, 20-25, 25-18, 17-15) over Capital on Wednesday (Oct. 13) evening inside Ban Johnson Arena. With the win the Pioneers improve to 4-14 overall and 1-3 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and with the loss Capital falls to 3-11 overall, and 0-5 in OAC action.
"I am extremely proud of the way we fought tonight. We had grit and drive to finish the match tonight," said Head Coach
Kristy Newman.
The first set was tight early, as the set was tied three times and remained deadlocked at 3-3. Capital rattled off three straight points to lead 6-3. Marietta answered with three consecutive points to tie the set at 6-6, behind kills from
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy). The Pioneers continued to play well and held an 11-7 edge, which forced a Capital timeout, behind an ace from
Makayla Schilling (Blacklick, Ohio/Licking Heights) and a kill from
Becca Phelps (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive). After Marietta led 14-9, Capital responded with five unanswered points to tie the set at 14 points apiece. After the set was tied at 15-15, the Pioneers stretched out a 19-15 behind kills from
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton), Fellers, and
Maris Kaiser (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy). Marietta closed the set strong and won, 25-19.
After the Pioneers led the second set 16-12, Capital rattled off four straight points to tie the set at 16, and force a Marietta timeout. Out of the break, the teams traded points as the set was tied at 17-17, 18-18, 19-19, 20-20, and 21-21 before the Pioneers took their final timeout of the set. After the timeout, Marietta scored three straight points to lead 24-21, behind kills from
Jenna Szabelski (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson), Boyer, and Silva. Capital answered to tie the set at 24 points apiece, and the set was deadlocked five more times and remained all square at 29-29. Capital scored the final two points of the set, and won 31-29.
The Pioneers jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in the third set, behind a pair of service aces from Szabelski. Capital battled back and tied the set at five points apiece. Capital scored five of the next seven points to hold a 10-7 edge. Marietta battled back to tie the set at 11-11 behind kills from Fellers and Silva, and an ace from Szabelski. The set remained tight until Capital scored six of eight points to take a 23-19 edge late in the set. Capital took the third set, 25-20.
The fourth set was close early as it was tied four times, and remained deadlocked at 5-5. The Pioneers points were scored by kills from
Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm) and Silva. Back to back kills from Silva put Marietta on top 7-5, which forced a Capital timeout. Out of the timeout, the Pioneers rattled off six straight points to lead 13-5 which forced the second Capital timeout. The run was sparked by three aces from Boyer, and a block from Silva. Marietta controlled the fourth set, and won 25-18.
The fifth set was a back and forth battle, as the set was tied eight times and remained deadlocked at 8-8. The early offense came from kills by Silva, Kaiser, and Phelps. Capital scored back to back points to take a 10-8 advantage, which forced a Pioneers timeout. Out of the break, Marietta bounced back to tie the final frame at 11-11 behind a kill from Fellers. The match remained tied at 13-13 and a kill from Szabelski made the score 14-13. The set was tied at 14-14, and 15-15, before the Pioneers scored the final two points, to win 17-15.
The Marietta offense was led by Fellers, she had 19 kills, four blocks, and played solid defense with 18 digs. Silva added to the offense with 17 kills in the match. Szabelski led the Pioneer defense with 19 digs in the match, and tallied three aces in the match.
Marietta will return to the court Saturday (Oct. 16) when they host Wilmington, with the match scheduled to begin at 1 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.
