ADA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team was in action Saturday (Oct. 29) afternoon as they battled with Ohio Northern and the University of Chicago in a tri-match to conclude the 2022 regular season. The Pioneers fell to the Polar Bears, 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 17-25, 25-20, 9-15) and dropped the second match of the day 3-1 (21-25, 27-25, 21-25, 18-25) to the Maroons.
Marietta opened the first game on a quick 7-4 run. The early Marietta offense came from kills by
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington),
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), and
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton). After giving up three points to the Polar Bears, Marietta tied it up 12 with a kill from
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington). Later in the match,
Becca Phelps (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive) tied it at 17 with a kill and a
Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) ace gave the Pioneers an 18-17 lead. Ohio Northern regained the lead as they pushed the score to 21-20, but the Pioneers would score on five of the next six point to take the set. 25-22
The two teams battled to an 8-all tie to begin set two, with the Pioneer offense led by four
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) kills. Ohio Northern would go on a five-point rally to take a 13-8 lead. The Pioneers scored on seven of the next nine points to tie it back up at 15, sparked by four kills from the Pioneer front line. Later in the set down 21-18, Ohio Northern would score seven of the next nine points to take set two, 25-21
The Polar Bears scored a six-point rally in early set three action to take an 8-4 lead.
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) snuck a kill passed the Polar Bears to cut the lead to 12-8. Ohio Northern would go on to score five of the next six points, expanding the lead to 17-9.
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) scored two kills and Silva brought another to cut the lead to 18-13. The Polar Bears continued to keep control, though, and won the set, 25-17.
The fourth set saw the Pioneers fall to an early 7-3 deficit, only to answer with a ten point rally. The run was fueled by two
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) kills and two
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) aces.
Riley Hohman's (Copley, Ohio/Copley) ace and a co-block from Phelps and Spitler gave the Pioneers an eight-point lead. Ohio Northern fought back to within three points, 23-20, but
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) put an exclamation point on the set with two kills. The Pioneers won 25-20 and forced a tie-breaking final set.
The fifth set was back and forth early and remained tied at 7-7. Silva brought a kill to give the Pioneers the lead, but it was short lived, as the Polar Bears took eight of the final nine points.
Ohio Northern would complete the crucial OAC match with a 15-9 win in the final set.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) led the offense in game one with 16 kills.
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) added 14 kills and Silva had 12 kills to go with her 8 blocks in the match. The defense was led by
Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) as she had 16 digs.
Marietta got off to a 3-1 lead in set one versus the University of Chicago, but quickly found themselves with an 8-3 deficit after a Maroon rally. Marietta fought back to get within one point, 9-8 fueled by a pair of
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy) kills. Silva and
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) had a kill apiece on the next two points to push the lead to 10-8. Chicago rallied for four straight points retake the lead. Marietta battled back and only trailed 20-19 after yet another Silva kill. Chicago would win five of the next seven points and take set one, 25-21.
The two team traded shots at the beginning of set two, but the Pioneers edged out to an 8-7 lead. Early offense was fueled by a
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) kill and two blocks. Chicago would go on to score nine of the next 11 points to take control of the match. Down 21-15, the Pioneers made a comeback as they scored on six straight points to tie it up at 21.
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) tied it up at 25 with a kill and the Pioneers would score the next two points to win the set, 27-25.
Marietta rushed out to an 8-5 lead in set three, sparked by three consecutive services aces by
Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community). Chicago battled back to tie the set at 9-9 and later at 15-15. The Maroons scored six of the next seven points to hold a 21-16 edge. Later in the set,
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) had two consecutive kills to close the lead to 23-21. The Maroons the final two points to win, 25-21.
The Maroons opened the fourth set on a 6-0 run, but the Pioneers fought back to 6-4 capped kills from
Becca Phelps (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive) and
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon). Chicago answered with a 10 point run that saw them take a crushing 22-12 edge. After Chicago got the score to match point, Marietta battled back with five consecutive points but would eventually fall to the Maroons, 25-21.
Once again, the offense was led by
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) with 12 kills and
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) with 11 kills. Phelps led with six blocks in the game.
Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm) led the defense with 26 digs in the match.
Marietta's season will continue on as they earned a spot in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament. The Pioneers notched the #4 seed and will host a first-round matchup with #5 seed Mount Union, 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.
