MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team split a double header against Heidelberg University on Friday (March 19) inside Ban Johnson Arena. The Pioneers took game one, 3-1 (25-14, 18-25, 25-21, 25-11), but dropped the second game of the night 3-2 (25-20, 25-16, 20-25, 17-25, 13-15).
The first set opened as a back and forth battle, as the game was tied 5-5 early on. Marietta took a 10-6 lead as they scored five of the next six points. The run was sparked by a kill from
Maris Kaiser (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy), and highlighted by back to back service aces from
Maddie Nader (Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion). Heidelberg tied the game at 10-10 with four straight points. The Pioneers responded with nine consecutive points to lead 19-10. The run saw
Hailey Fuller (Newark, Ohio/Granville),
April Davis (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora), and
Sam Ritenour (Jeffersonville, Ohio/Miami Trace) all tally a kill. Marietta won the first set, 25-14.
The Pioneers momentum carried over to the second set, as they led 3-1 early in the set. The points came from a Fuller kill, and an ace from Nader. The Student Princes battled back to tie the game at five points apiece. Marietta rattled off four straight points, and led 9-5, behind kills from Ritenour,
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), and Nader. Late in the set, Heidelberg scored seven of the last eight points of the set, and won 25-18.
The third set saw the teams trade points, and the set remained deadlocked 11 points apiece. After the Student Princes took a 12-11 edge, the Pioneers scored six unanswered points, and led 17-12. The run was sparked by kills from Fellers, Nader, and
Becca Phelps (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive). Marietta never let Heidelberg back into the set, and won 25-21.
The Pioneers carried their momentum over to the fourth set, and held a 6-1 lead. The run was highlighted by a pair of kills from Fellers, and capped by an ace from
Aly Wiseman (London, Ohio/Bishop Ready). Marietta dominated the fourth and final set, to win 25-11.
In the second match of the night, the Pioneers jumped out to an early 8-3 lead, behind kills from Fuller, Phelps, and Kaiser. Marietta continued its strong play and led 13-6 to force a Heidelberg timeout. Fellers, Phelps, and Fuller all tallied a kill during the span. Out of the timeout, the teams traded points and the Pioneers held a 20-14 edge. Marietta closed out the first set and won, 25-20.
The second set remained deadlocked at four points apiece, before four straight points put the Pioneers up 8-4, with kills by Fellers and Phelps. Marietta maintained a solid lead, and forced a Student Prince's timeout. After the timeout, the Pioneers rattled off five straight points, to propel them to a 25-16 second set win.
Heidelberg opened the third set strong, and led 6-2, which forced a Marietta timeout. The Student Princes held an 18-12 led late in the set. The Pioneers scored three consecutive points to trim the lead to 18-15, with a kill from Ritenour, and an ace from
Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm). Heidelberg held on to win the third set, 25-20.
The fourth set was tied at 5-5 early on, Marietta took a 7-5 edge behind kills from Fuller and Fellers, which forced a Student Prince's timeout. Out of the break, Heidelberg rallied with five straight points to lead, 10-7. The Student Prince's held the lead through the fourth set, and won 25-17.
The fifth and final set was tightly contested as the teams traded points, and the set remained tied at 10-10. The Pioneers grabbed a 12-10 advantage behind kills from Fuller and Fellers. Heidelberg answered to tie the game at 13-13, which forced a Marietta timeout. Out of the timeout, the Student Prince's scored the final two points of the set and won the fifth set, 15-13.
The Pioneers were led by Fellers, she had 29 kills and eight total blocks. Fuller pitched in with 18 kills and four total blocks. Davis led the way for the defense with 40 total digs on the night, 23 of which came in game two, which was a game high. Elsea added 27 total digs between the two games, and had four aces on the night.
Marietta will return to the court Tuesday (March 23) when they travel to Capital, with game one scheduled for 6 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.
