MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team split a pair of matches in the BSN Sports River City Classic on Friday (Sept. 3) evening. The Pioneers won their first game 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-15, 25-22) over Washington and Jefferson, and Marietta dropped the second match to Franklin College, 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-20). The Pioneers are now 1-2 overall on the season.
Head Coach
Kristy Newman said, "Not the result we were looking for in the second match of the night, but we are a young team learning with every match we play. I am proud of the effort from the team tonight, and the progress we have made early this season."
The first set was close early, as the first set remained deadlocked at five points apiece. Marietta grabbed an 8-5 edge behind three straight kills from
Maris Kaiser (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) and
Lauren Radalia (Canton, Ohio/GlenOak). The Pioneers continued to hit the ball well and a pair of kills from
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy) and
Becca Phelps (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive) put Marietta on top 13-7, and forced a Washington and Jefferson timeout. The Pioneers finished out the first set strong, and won 25-14.
The Presidents opened the second set strong, and held an early 5-1 advantage. Marietta battled back to make the score 7-6 behind a kill from
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton). Washington and Jefferson answered with six of the next seven points to lead 14-8. The Pioneers battled back into the set to trim the lead to 20-18, behind a kill from Radalia and an ace from
Jenna Szabelski (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson). The Presidents won the second set, 25-23.
The third set was tied at 4-4, before a kill from
Makayla Schilling (Blacklick, Ohio/Licking Heights) and an ace from Silva, to give the Pioneers a 6-4 advantage. Marietta scored six of the next seven points and pulled out a 12-6 edge. The run was sparked by kills from Radalia and Silva, and aces from Schilling and Szabelski. The Pioneers maintained their lead through the middle of the set, and scored the final four points to win, 25-15.
Marietta jumped out to a 3-1 advantage, with a pair of kills from Phelps and Szabelski. The set was close as it was tied at 3-3, 5-5, 12-12, and 18-18. The Pioneer offense was led by Radalia, and Boyer through the middle of the set. Marietta closed out the fourth set with back to back kills from Radalia and Boyer to give the Pioneers a 25-22 fourth set win.
Radalia led the offense in the first game as she notched a game high 12 kills. Kaiser and Boyer each added to the offense with 11 kills. Defensively, Braya Else led the way for Marietta with 23 digs.
In game two Franklin got off to a quick start and led 8-4 in the first set. The Marietta points came from a kill from Radalia and
Riley Hohman (Copley, Ohio/Copley). The Pioneers scored four of the next six points and trimmed the Grizzlies lead to 10-8, with a kill from Radalia. Franklin answered with three straight points and led 13-8 to force a Marietta timeout. The Grizzlies maintained their momentum, and took set one 25-15.
Franklin jumped out to a 9-4 edge to open the second set. The Pioneers trimmed the lead to 9-7 with three straight points, behind kills from Boyer and Silva. Marietta continued to battle and tied the set at 14 points apiece, behind a kill from Elsea. The Grizzlies responded to score seven of the next eight points to hold a 21-15 edge. Later in the set, the Pioneers rattled off four consecutive points to cut the lead to 24-20. The run was sparked by a kill and an ace from Silva. Franklin took set two 25-20.
Marietta grabbed an early third set edge, as they held a 5-2 lead, behind kills from Kaiser and Boyer. The Grizzlies answered to tie the game at 6-6. The set remained tight and was deadlocked at 9-9, 14-14, 16-16, 17-17, and 18-18. Franklin rattled off three straight points to lead 21-18, which forced a Pioneer timeout. Marietta could not generate a comeback, and dropped the final set 25-20.
Boyer led the Pioneer offense with eight kills in the match, and Radalia added seven kills. Elsea once again led the Marietta defense with 17 digs in the match.
The Pioneers will return to the court Saturday (Sept. 4) when they wrap up their competition in the BSN Sports River City Classic.
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.
