MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team defeated Heidelberg on Saturday (Oct. 22) afternoon to stay in a tie for first place in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Pioneers swept the Student Princes 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-18). With the win, Marietta improves to 18-5 overall and 6-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Student Princes dropped to 7-17 and 2-5 in the OAC.
"The Pios stayed very disciplined, focused and followed the game plan to come out with the W today," said Head Coach
Kristy Newman. "I am very proud of them."
Both teams battled to an 8-8 tie in the first set. The Pioneer offense was sparked early by great serving as Jillian and
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) spread out three aces. Marietta jumped out to a 12-9 lead when senior
Becca Phelps (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive), who was honored by her team before the game, dropped a thunderous kill. Heidelberg rallied back to tie it at 13, though, and would eventually jump out to a 18-14 lead of their own. The Pioneers won the serve back after a
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) kill and would score the next eight points to close out the set. Silva would notch three more kills and
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) would deliver two more services aces and the Pioneers would eventually cruise to a set one victory, 25-19.
Marietta carried their momentum over to the second set, as they opened the frame with a 10-5 score. The Marietta points were paced by
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy) with three kills in the early run. Some spotty defense and some good serving by the Student Princes got them back into the set as they were able to tie it at 13 all. The Pioneers rattled off the next four points with kills from Phelps, Boyer, and
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon). Both teams battled back-and-forth but Marietta never lost the lead. A
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) kill put it at set point and a Heidelberg attack error handed the set to the Pioneers, 25-21.
The third set was close early and remained deadlocked at 5-5.
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) came up clutch in the set, providing four early kills to get the Pioneers to a 9-6 cushion. Phelps took a great Spitler set and brought it down for a kill to extend the lead to 13-9.
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) keep bringing the offense as she tallied four more kills, putting the score at match point. Phelps finished the game with a kill and Marietta would take set three, 25-18.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) led the offense with a game high 12 kills in the match.
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) added 11 kills, three service aces, and 10 digs in the game. Phelps added six kills and four blocks to the offense. Spitler led the way with 38 assists.
Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) led the defensive effort with a game high 19 digs in the match.
The Pioneers will return to Fenton Court Wednesday (Oct. 26) for their regular season home finale when they host Otterbein with the game 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.
