MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team had a "block party' Wednesday (Oct.12) evening as they defeated Mount Union 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-18) at the Ban Johnson Arena. The Pioneers registered 17 total blocks on the evening. With the win the Pioneers are now 15-5 overall and 3-1 in Ohio Athletic Conference play and with the loss the Purple Raiders drop to 15-5 overall and 2-2 in the OAC.
"We came in knowing it was a must win for us tonight," said Head Coach
Kristy Newman. "I am proud of the drive and focus the Pios had. They knew the game plan and executed it well!"
Marietta jumped out to a 6-2 lead to open the first set. The early offense came from kills by
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and pair of service aces from
Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community). Kills by
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy) and
Becca Phelps (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive) extended the lead to 13-7. Mount Union stayed close and was able to go on a four point run to get to within a single point, 20-19. The Pioneer went on to score five of the final seven points to win the set, 25-21.
Marietta took early control of the second set, firing out to a 13-5 lead. During that span, Marietta went on an impressive seven-point rally that was keyed by kills from Silva and a host of Purple Raider attack errors. Consecutive kills by the Fellers sisters extended the lead to 17-8. Mount Union tried to claw back in with a four-point run, but the Pioneers answered by winning four of the next five points. Silva delivered a big kill to stop a mini Mount Union rally and finished the second set with an 'exclamation point' kill. The Pioneers would win the set, 25-17.
The third set was tight early as it remained deadlocked at 4-4, 5-5, and 8-8. The early Marietta offense came from kills by Silva and
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), and two blocks from
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington). After Mount Union would jump out to a 12-9 lead, Marietta answered big by going on a crushing nine point rally.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) notched four kills during that run.
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and Silva kept up their front line assault, notching kill after kill, and the Pioneer would go on to win the set, 25-18.
The Pioneers were led by
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), who had a rare triple-double - 14 kills, 10 blocks, and 13 digs.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) chipped in with 13 kills and
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) finished with nine kills and seven blocks.
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) had 32 assists and Kira Shannon led the defensive effort with 21 digs in the match.
Marietta will return to the court Friday (Oct. 14) when they travel to take on Wilmington, with the match 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.
