TIFFIN, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team dropped a pair of games at the No One Fights Alone Invitational hosted by Heidelberg on Saturday (Oct. 9) afternoon. The Pioneers fell to the Student Princes 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-18), and fell in the night cap to Case Western 3-2 (25-20, 16-25, 25-21, 29-31, 15-12).
Marietta jumped out to a 3-0 lead early and pushed the lead to 6-2 in the first set. The early offense was sparked by
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), she had four kills, and
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy) notched a kill. Heidelberg battled back into the set with four straight points to take a 13-12 edge. The Student Princes outscored the Pioneers 12-5 to close out the first set, and win 25-17.
Heidelberg carried their momentum over to the second set, as they opened the frame on a 7-0 run. The Student Princes continued their strong play and held a 15-4 edge. The Marietta points came from kills by
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) and Fellers. The Pioneers trimmed the lead to 15-7 behind kills from
Lauren Radalia (Canton, Ohio/GlenOak) and
Jenna Szabelski (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson). The teams battled for the remainder of the set, but Heidelberg won the set, 25-18.
The third set was close early, as it was tied three times and remained deadlocked at 7-7. Marietta tied the set at 7-7 behind a pair of kills from Silva, and a kill from Radalia. After the Student Princes took a 9-7 edge, the Pioneers answered with five of the next six points to lead 12-10. The run was highlighted by back to back aces from
Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm), and a kill from Boyer. Heidelberg responded to tie the set at 13-13. After Marietta took a 14-13 advantage, the Student Princes scored four straight points to hold a 17-14 edge. The Pioneers fought back to trim the lead to 18-17 behind a kill from
Becca Phelps (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive). Heidelberg scored six of the final seven points and took set three, 25-18.
The offense ran through Fellers and Silva in game one, each had 10 kills in the match.
Makayla Schilling (Blacklick, Ohio/Licking Heights) led the defense with 12 digs in the match.
The Pioneers took an early 3-1 lead in the first set of the second match of the day. The early offense was sparked by three kills Fellers. Case Western answered with three consecutive points to take a 4-3 edge. Marietta tied the set at 4-4 behind a kill from Fellers, but the Spartans rattled off seven of the next eight points to lead 11-5. After Case Western led 13-7, the Pioneers scored four straight points to trim the lead to 13-11. The run was sparked by kills from
Maris Kaiser (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy), Radalia, and Fellers. Marietta could not get any closer and fell 25-20.
The second set was a tight battle as the set was tied twice, and remained all square at 6-6. The Pioneers offense was led by three kills from Phelps. After the Spartans led 8-6, Marietta tallied six straight points behind kills from Szabelski and Fellers, and a service ace from Szabelski. The Pioneers continued to play well and stretched their lead to 16-10 behind an ace from
Makayla Schilling (Blacklick, Ohio/Licking Heights). Marietta controlled the remainder of the set, and won 25-16.
The third set was back and forth early in the set, but Case Western led 13-11. The Pioneers took a 16-13 edge behind a 5-0 run. The run was highlighted by a pair of aces from Fellers and a kill from Phelps. The Spartans battled back to tie the game at 17-17. After Marietta led, 21-20, Case Western scored the final five points, and won 25-21.
The fourth set was a long hard fought set. After the Spartans led 22-19, the Pioneers scored five consecutive points to take on 24-22 edge. The run was sparked by four kills from Silva. Case Western answered to take a 25-24 edge. The set was tied at 25, 26, 27, 29, and 29 points apiece. Finally, Marietta put together back top back points to win the fourth set, 31-29. Fellers notched a kill during the final two points.
The Spartans were able to grab a 3-2 edge, but the Pioneers rattled off three straight points behind a kill and an ace from Fellers to led 5-3. After a Case Western point, Marietta tallied back to back kills from Silva and Radalia to lead 7-4. The Spartans answered with six of the next seven points to hold a 10-8 edge. The Pioneers battled back to tie the set at 10-10, and the set remained tied at 12-12. Case Western scored the final three points, and won 15-12.
Fellers led the offense with a game high 25 kills in the match. Fellers added five service aces and three blocks in the game. Radalia, Silva, and Phelps added to the offense, as all three added double-digit kills. Schilling led the defensive effort with a game high 30 digs in the match.
The Pioneers will return to the court Wednesday (Oct. 13) when they host Capital with the game scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Fans can follow all 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.
