COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team traveled to Capital University on Wednesday (Oct. 19) evening and defeated the Comets 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-17).  With the win, Marietta is now 17-5 on the season and 5-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference.  Capital drops to 8-14 with the loss and 0-6 in the OAC

After being deadlocked in a four-all tie in set one, Marietta rallied to win five of the next six points and pushed the lead to 10-5.  The early offense was sparked by Mia Silva's (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) three kills, and Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) notched two kills.  Marietta then went on another run, fueled by two kills and a block from Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), to extend the lead to 15-8.  Capital battled back to get the lead within four, but Silva stopped the momentum with back-to-back kills.  The Comets rallied to take seven of the next eight points to put the score at 24-22, but Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) provided the set-winning kill and the Pioneers won 25-22.  

Marietta started strong in to the second set, opening the frame with a 10-5 lead. Silva delivered three more kills as the Pioneers took control of the set.  The Comets continued to hang around, playing hard and finding themselves in another big rally.  Capital scored seven of eight points and tied the set at 19.  Marietta took the next three points with kills from Silva and Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) closed the set with a pair of kills to hand Marietta the set, 25-22.  

Marietta jumped out to a 5-0 run in set three, only to see the lead evaporate with five consecutive Comet points.  The Pioneers answered with an eight-point run, highlighted by two kills from Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy) and two aces from Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington).  After Marietta extended the lead to 17-9, Capital came back with a five-point rally to cut the lead to three.  The Pioneers dominated the final moments of the set, scoring on seven of the final 10 points and took set three, 25-17.

Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) led the offense with a game high 13 kills in the match and added 11 digs for the evening. Silva added 11 kills and Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) added 10 kills to the Pioneer offense.  Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) led the defensive effort with a game high 13 digs to go along with her 35 assists in the match.  

The Pioneers will return to the court Saturday (Oct. 22) when they host Heidelberg with the game scheduled to begin at 1 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.