MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team hosted Wilmington College Friday (Oct. 13) evening and welcomed in two former Pioneers who have now begun their coaching careers with the Quakers. Aly Wiseman returned to the Ban Johnson Arena, this time as head coach of Wilmington.
Braya Elsea (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm), who played last year for the Pioneers, also returned, but this time as the Quakers assistant coach. When it came to the match, the Pioneers dominated and won, 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-15). With the win the Pioneers improve to 9-8 overall and 4-1 in Ohio Athletic Conference play, and with the loss the Quakers fall to 9-11 overall and 1-4 in OAC action.
In the first set, Marietta jumped out to a 7-3 lead after
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy) delivered a pair of kills and
Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) converted a pair of aces. Later, the Pioneers went on a five-point rally which was keyed by a trio of kills from
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington). The Quakers were later plagued with some attack errors that allowed Marietta to extend the lead to 20-7. Wilmington tried to break the momentum and scored on six straight possessions to cut the lead to seven.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) won the serve back with a kill and Marietta closed out the next four points and took the first set, 25-13.
Marietta got off to a quick start again in set two and led, 7-1. The early second set offense came from kills by
Sophie Evans (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta),
Annabelle Hacker (Centerville, Ohio/Alter), and Boyer and two more aces from Shannon. The Quakers fought back to cut the lead, 10-6, but Pioneers kept up the pressure as they won 10 of the next 14 points. The final point of the run came off of a block from Evans and Hacker. With the lead now at 20-10, the Quakers tried to fight back but could not overcome the difference. Hacker finished off the set with a kill and the Pioneers won the second set, 25-13.
The third set was close early, with both teams tied at eight, but the Pioneers ran off eight of the next 10 point to take control of the set. Wilmington cut the lead to three after a kill from Joy Bebe, but that is as close as they would get. Marietta received six points off of the great serving from
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) and timely kills from the Marietta front line, pushing the lead to 23-17.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) delivered the final kill and the Pioneers secured the victory, 25-15.
The Marietta offense was led by
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) with 14 kills and Evans with 10 kills. Boyer pitched in with six kills. Hacker led the Pioneers with four blocks and Silva finished with three blocks.
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) dished out 33 assists. Shannon led the defensive effort with a game high 19 digs.
Marietta will return to the court Saturday (Oct. 14) when they participate in a tri-match at Wittenberg University. The Pioneers will battle Carnegie Mellon at 1:30 p.m. and Wittenberg at 4 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 X and Instagram.
