MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team lost a heartbreaker to #11 ranked Wittenberg University, 3-2 (16-25, 25-12, 25-23, 15-25, 19-21) on Sunday (Oct. 9) afternoon at the Ban Johnson Arena. With the loss the Pioneers fall to 14-5 overall and with the win the Tigers improve to 15-3 overall.
"I am proud of the fight the Pios had," said Head Coach
Kristy Newman. "It didn't fall our way today but we will learn and grow from this loss for our next match!"
The first set was deadlocked at three before Wittenberg took early control with a five point run, fueled by two kills by Kaili Worcester. Two
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) kills and a service ace by
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) closed the gap to a single point, 9-8. A kill by Tyler Linkhart widened the lead to 16-11, causing the Pioneers to take a timeout.
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) took a perfectly placed set from
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) and delivered the kill to make the score, 18-13. That is as close as the Pioneers could get as Wittenberg scored six of the next eight points. The Tigers would go on to win the first set, 25-16.
The Pioneers came back with a vengeance in the second set as they jumped out to a 4-1 lead, fueled by an ace and a kill from
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington). Silva and Jillian added another kill apiece and the lead widened to 8-4 for the Pioneers. Marietta took full control of the set as they ran off seven consecutive points, four coming from kills by their powerful front line and putting the score at 22-11. After a service error by the Tigers, Silva closed out the set with two kills and the Pioneers won the second set, 25-12.
The third set saw Wittenberg take an early lead, 7-2, highlighted by two Mack Ricketts aces. Marietta closed the deficit to 11-8 with the aid of two Silva kills. Wittenberg scored nine of the next 12 points to give them a convincing 20-13 lead. The Pioneers got the serve back after a thunderous kill from
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and would then go on a crucial nine point rally that saw Maggie deliver three aces and Silva provide two kills. Silva added the set-winner off of a great Spitler set and the Pioneer would claim set three, 25-23.
In set four, the Pioneers got quick kills from
Becca Phelps (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive) and
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy) to jump out to a 3-1 lead. Kills from
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and Spitler extended the lead to 6-3. After
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) delivered a kill to put the lead at four, Wittenberg went on a much needed seven point run to put the Tigers back in the lead, 12-10. The Tigers would go on a back-breaking nine point streak to extend the lead to 21-11 and would close out the set, 25-15, to force a fifth set.
The two teams battled it out in the final set, tying each other a staggering 12 times.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) tied it at five with a kill and then delivered a co-block with Silva to give the Pioneers a 6-5 lead. The Tigers stormed back with four consecutive points, two off of kills from Hannah Schartz. Not to be denied, Marietta came back with five straight points to regain the lead, 12-10. With the game tied at 13, Maggie Feller brought a kill that put the Pioneers at match point. The Tigers then took two straight points and they found themselves at match point. The Pioneers tied it on a Tiger attack error and would enter into a back-and-forth sequence to put the score at 19 all. After a Pioneer error gave the advantage to Wittenberg, Kendall Robertson delivered the match winner and the Tiger would take the set 21-19.
The Marietta offense was led by
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) with 19 kills. Maggie and
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) added 14 kills and four total blocks apiece.
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) had 43 assists. Kiera Shannon led an awesome Pioneer defensive effort with 24 digs in the match.
Marietta will return to the Ban Johnson Arena Wednesday (Oct. 12) when they host Mount Union, 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.
