WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team was defeated 3-1 (21-25, 28-26, 22-25, 24-26) at Otterbein University in the semifinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament on Thursday (Nov. 3) evening.
"I am so proud of the way the Pios fought every point tonight," said Head Coach
Kristy Newman. "The result is not what we wanted, and we are going to let this fuel us in the off season."
Both teams battled to a 10-all tie in the first set. Jillian and
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) sparked the early offense with two kills apiece. Otterbein rallied for four consecutive points to take a 15-12 lead.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) brought two more kills and the Pioneers were only down 20-18. Later, a
Becca Phelps (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive) kill and a bad set by Otterbein got the score to 22-21, but that as close as Marietta got. The Cardinals closed out the set with three consecutive points and took set one, 25-21
The Cardinals opened the second set strong as they held an early 8-3 edge. Marietta answered to tie the set at nine points apiece. The run was sparked by a pair of kills from
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) and a service ace from
Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community). After falling behind by two points, the Pioneers tied it at 14 with a Phelps kills and an Otterbein attack error. Marietta surged forward with a four point run, fueled by kills from Silva and
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy). Otterbein caught back up to tie it at 21. The two battled through the latter part of the set, but the Cardinals held a 26-25 and was serving set point. A Phelps kill and two from
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) gave the victory to the Pioneers, 28-26
The Pioneers opened the third set with an 8-2 lead, behind four kills from
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and an ace from
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon). Otterbein scored nine of the next 11 points to tie it at 11. A four-point Pioneer rally was answered with a three point run from the Cardinals. At a crucial moment in the match, Otterbein erased a deficit and rallied for six straight points, taking a 21-19 lead. The Cardinals finished out the set, and won 25-22.
Otterbein carried its momentum over to the fourth set, and held an early 4-1 edge. The Pioneers returned fire and Silva provided a kill to give Marietta an 8-7 lead. Later, the Pioneers scored six straight points to take a 16-10 lead, sparked by two Spitler service aces. After Marietta led 20-17, five straight points from the Cardinals gave them the lead back at 22-20. The Pioneers answered with two kills from
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and another Spitler ace to put the game at set point, causing Otterbein to take a timeout. The Cardinals scored the next three points and capped off the set, 26-24.
The Pioneer offense was led by Jillian Feller, she had a team high 20 kills in the match. Silva had 13 kills and
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) had 12 kills, and had a pair of solo blocks. Davis led the defense with a game high 18 digs in the match. Jillian added to the defensive effort with 27 digs in the match.
"We have a lot to be proud of from this season and we are going to recognize that but not be satisfied there," said Coach Newman
Fans can follow all of 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.
