SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team dropped a pair of games in the final day of the Wittenberg Fall Classic on Saturday (Sept. 18) afternoon. The Pioneers fell 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 17-25, 15-25) to Mount St. Joseph, and dropped game two 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-23, 25-20) to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
The opening set was close early as the set remained tied at 6-6. The early Marietta offense came from three kills by
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy). The Pioneers scored five of the next seven points to hold an 11-8 edge. The run was a well-rounded attack as
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton),
Maris Kaiser (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy),
Lauren Radalia (Canton, Ohio/GlenOak), and
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) each had a kill. Mount St. Joseph responded with eight of the next nine points to lead 16-12. Later in the set, Marietta battled back to tie the frame at 22-22 behind a kill from Fellers. After the Lions made the score 24-22, the Pioneers scored the final four points of the set to win 26-24, with a key service ace from
Jenna Szabelski (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson).
After the second set was tied at 2-2 Mount St. Joseph took a 5-3 advantage. Marietta battled back to tie the set at 9-9 behind kills form Szabelski and Radalia. The Pioneers continued to play well and took a 12-9 edge behind an ace from Szabelski. The teams traded leads through the middle of the set. Late in the set, the score was tied three times, and remained all square at 23-23. The Lions scored the final two points, and won 25-23.
Mount St. Joseph carried its momentum over to the third set, as they jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Marietta answered with four consecutive points to tie the set at 5-5. The run was sparked by a kill and an ace from Radalia. The Lions responded with five unanswered points to lead 10-5. The Pioneers trimmed the lead to 12-10, but could not get any closer and dropped the third set, 25-17.
Mount St. Joseph took an early 6-2 lead in the fourth set. Marietta battled back to trim the lead to 9-7 behind a pair of kills from Radalia and Fellers. Later in the set, the Lions scored eight of the next nine points to hold an 18-9 edge. The Pioneers battled for the remainder of the set, but lost 25-15.
Radalia led the Marietta offense in game one with 12 kills in the match. Fellers added eight kills and three blocks in the game. Defensively,
Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm) led the Pioneers with a game high 22 digs in the match.
Marietta opened the second game of the day strong, as they lead 7-2 to open the first set. The early offense came from three kills by Fellers. Rose-Hulman battled back to trim the Pioneers lead to 9-7, but Marietta answered with five straight to lead 14-7 which forced a timeout. The run was capped by a pair of kills from Radalia. After the Pioneers led 17-10, the Fighin' Engineers rattled off 14 straight points to lead 24-17. Marietta halted the run on a block by Fellers, but lost the set 25-21.
The Pioneers grabbed a 5-1 lead in the second set, behind three straight service aces from Radalia. Marietta continued to play well and extended its lead to 9-3 behind kills from Boyer and Silva. After Rose-Hulman trimmed the lead to 10-7, the Pioneers rattled off four points, with an ace from
Makayla Schilling (Blacklick, Ohio/Licking Heights). After Marietta led 21-10, the Fightin' Engineers scored nine of the next 11 points, to trim the lead to 24-19. The Pioneers scored the final point of the set, with a kill from Fellers to win, 25-19.
The third set was close as it was tied six times, and remained deadlocked at 10-10. Rose-Hulman scored back to back points to lead, 12-10, but Marietta responded to tie the game at 14-14 behind a kill from Silva. The set remained tight, and after the set was tied at 19-19 back to back points from the Fightin' Engineers gave them a 21-19 edge. The Pioneers responded to take a 23-22 advantage when Fellers notched a kill. Rose-Hulman scored the final three points of the set and won 25-23.
The fourth set was tight early as the set was tied six times and remained deadlocked at 7-7. The Fightin' Engineers scored the next three points to lead 10-7, and forced a Marietta timeout. Out of the timeout, the Pioneers tied the set at 10-10 behind kills from
Alayna Ricker (Columbus Grove, Ohio/Columbus Grove) and Fellers. The Fightin' Engineers scored four of the next five points to hold a 14-11 edge. Marietta battled back to tie the set at 17 points apiece behind a kill from Fellers. Rose-Hulman scored four of the next five points to lead 21-18. The Fightin' Engineers closed out the set, and won 25-20.
Fellers led the offense in game two with a game high 17 kills, and 6 blocks in the match. Radalia and Silva each added to the offense with nine kills apiece. The defense was led by
Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm), she had a team high 18 digs in the match. Szabelski added 10 digs, and 41 assists in the match.
The Pioneers will return to the court Saturday (Sept. 25) when they play Hanover College at the Transylvania Invitational.
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.
