MARYVILLE, Tenn. – The Marietta College volleyball team swept a pair of matches on Saturday (Sept. 17) afternoon at the Maryville (Tenn.) Invitational.  The Pioneers won the first match 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-17) to Covenant College, and   the second match to host Maryville 3-1 (24-26, 25-20, 25-16, 20-25, 15-9).  

"It was nice to be back at my alma mater and see our players be gritty and resilient.," said Head Coach Kristy Newman.   

After some trading of serves, Covenant jumped out to a 13-7 lead in the opening frame of the match.  Marietta experienced some early set errors but was able to stay in the contest with kills from Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton).  The Scots continued their strong play, as they extended their lead to 17-11 later in the set.  The Pioneers then started their comeback, winning five of the next six points, fueled by kills from Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), Sophie Evans (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta), and Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon).  Another Silva kill put the score close at 19-17 and put Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) on the serve.  Shannon ripped off six consecutive points, three off of aces, giving the Pioneers the lead, 23-19.  Covenant battled but was unable to put together a comeback and Marietta took the first set, 25-21.  

A pair of Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) kills gave the Pioneers an 8-4 lead in the second set. Marietta won eight of the next 10 points, aided by kills from the Fellers sisters and Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy), expanding the lead to 19-11.  The Scots tried to keep it close but every mini rally was stopped and the set was ended with a Spitler ace. Marietta won the second set, 25-16.  

In the third set, the Pioneers raced to a 14-6 lead.  The powerful Marietta front line got some early kills and the Scots began to make some costly errors.  Covenant tried to fight back but could not bridge the gap and Marietta would close it out strong.  Kills by Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), Boyer, and Evans took the score to match point and Marietta would go on to win, 25-17.
 
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) led the Marietta offense with 11 kills apiece, and Maggie led with three blocks assists in the match.  Spitler finished the match with 36 assists.  Shannon led the defensive effort with a game high 17 digs, and tallied three aces.  Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm) finished with 10 digs.  

In the second match of the day, Marietta and host Maryville battled back and forth to an 8-8 tie in set one.  The early offense came from a trio of kills from Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington).  Maryville went on a four point run, but the Pioneers answered back to tie it at 13.  The Scots then went on a run that saw them win nine of the next 12 points, but Marietta would come back with a run of their own.  Two Spitler aces and three Silva kills gave the Pioneers a slim 23-22 lead, causing Maryville to take a time out.  The Scots capitalized on two straight Marietta attack errors and went on to take the first set, 26-24.
 
In the second set, both teams battled back and forth with no team doing better than a three point lead for much of the match.  The Pioneers were paced by Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) with three early kills and the teams were tied at 10.  Maggie contributed four more kills and her sister Jillian added two additional kills to give Marietta a bit of breathing room and a 22-20 lead.  Maryville would not score again in the set and Marietta won, 25-20.
 
Early action in the third set was close as both teams saw eight ties on the way to score of 10-10.  Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) continued to make an impact with three kills and an ace in that span.  Marietta went on a run and extended its lead to 17-11 behind kills from Silva, Boyer, and Jillian  Fellers.  The Pioneers would win eight of the next 11 points and would finish off set three with a Spitler ace, winning 25-16.
 
With their backs against the wall, Maryville came out fighting in set four, taking a 13-7 lead.  The Scots registered 10 kills in early action to give them the lead.  Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) tried to keep it close with three kills but, despite those efforts, Maryville extended the lead to 23-14.  Marietta would return fire, scoring on seven of the next eight points.  The comeback would fall short as Amii Engalls registered the set-winning kill and the Scots would win, 25-21.
 
In the deciding set, Marietta rushed out to a commanding 10-3 lead.  The Scots would not give up, going on a three-point run and causing the Pioneers to take a time out with a 12-8 lead.  A key co-block by Spitler and Maggie  Fellers gave serve back to the Pioneers on match point and they would go on to survive with a 15-9 set win.
 
The Pioneer offense was led by Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) as she had 18 kills in the match.  Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) finished with 15 kills and Silva would finish with 13 kills.  Spitler led the defense with a match high 18 digs to go along with her 49 assists.  Shannon finished with 17 digs and Elsea finished with 15 digs

Marietta will return to the court Sunday (Sept. 18) in day two of the Maryville Invitational when they play Transylvania University, with the game scheduled to begin at 12 p.m.  

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.