LEXINGTON, Va. – The Marietta College volleyball team earned a 3-2 (18-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-21, 15-11) victory over Bridgewater on Saturday (Sept. 11) afternoon. With the win the Pioneers improve to 3-4 overall and with the loss the Eagles fall to 3-4 on the season.
"I am so proud of the way my team fought through a difficult situation and followed the game plan," said Head Coach
Kristy Newman. "They truly supported each other and moved as a unit on the court."
The first set opened as a 2-2 stalemate, with a kill by
Lauren Radalia (Canton, Ohio/GlenOak). Bridgewater opened up a 6-2 edge behind a 4-0 run. The Pioneers battled back to make the score 7-6 behind a pair of kills from
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton). The Eagles scored six of the next seven points and led the set, 13-7. After the score was 17-12 in favor of Bridgewater, Marietta answered with six of the next eight points to make the score 19-18. The run was sparked by Silva and
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy) who each had a pair of kills. The Eagles scored the final six points of the set, and won 25-18.
Bridgewater opened the second set with a 4-1 edge. The Pioneers battled back to level the set at 10-10, with kills by Boyer and Silva. The set continued to be a back and forth battle and remained deadlocked at 21-21. The offense was led by kills from Silva, Boyer, and
Makayla Schilling (Blacklick, Ohio/Licking Heights). Marietta scored four of the last five points to win the set, 25-22. Boyer won the set when she drove home the final point of the set.
The Pioneers took an early third set led behind a service ace from
Riley Hohman (Copley, Ohio/Copley) and a kill from Boyer. The Eagles battled back to tie the game at 4-4. Marietta scored the next three points and led 7-4. The Pioneers maintained an 11-8 edge, but Bridgewater battled back to tie the game at 12-12. Marietta regained a 16-14 edge behind a kill from Silva but, the Eagles answered with five straight points to lead, 21-17. Bridgewater closed the set strong and won 25-18.
The Pioneers held a 3-0 lead early in the fourth set behind a kill from Radalia. The Eagles battled back to tie the set at 3-3, and the set was tied five separate times, and remained tied at 12-12. The set stayed tight throughout, and the Pioneers scored the final two points with a kill from Boyer, and an ace from Radalia, to win 25-21.
The fifth set was a back and forth battle as the set was tied six times and remained tied at 9-9. Marietta scored three of the next four points to lead, 12-10 on three kills from Radalia. After a Bridgewater point the Pioneers scored the final three points of the match to win, 15-11. The final Marietta points were scored by Boyer and Silva.
The Pioneer offense was led by Silva, she notched a game high 23 kills, and a pair of block assists in the match. Radalia pitched in with 20 kills and a pair of block assists in the match.
Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm) had a match high 35 digs in the game. Schilling and Hohman each added to the defense with 16 digs in the game.
Marietta will return to the court Friday (Sept. 17) when they travel to Wittenberg to play Earlham, with the game scheduled to begin at 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.
