SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team participated in the Wittenberg Fall Classic and was defeated in both of their matchups on Saturday (Oct. 14) afternoon. They were defeated by Carnegie Mellon University 3-0 (25-22, 15-25, 21-25) and then by Wittenberg University 3-0 (13-25, 20-25, 27-29).
In the first match of the day, Carnegie Mellon rushed out to quick 6-3 lead in the first set, but Marietta fought back.
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) faked out the Tartans and delivered a kill to get the serve back. The Pioneers took advantage of some Carnegie Mellon attack errors to cut the lead to one, 8-7. After the two teams traded some points, CMU's Avani Seshiah brought a kill that extended the lead to four. The Tartans then took seven of the next ten possessions, four of those points given up by some Marietta attack errors. Bella Woodward scored the final kill for CMU and they took the first set, 25-16.
Marietta and Carnegie Mellon began set two tied at 4-4, but the Tartans took the six of the next seven to push their lead to five. The Pioneers got kills from
Annabelle Hacker (Centerville, Ohio/Alter),
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), and
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) that helped trim the deficit, but CMU took the next three points to push the lead to 15-9. Marietta was able to stay close with the help of some Tartans attack errors, and after
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) delivered a pair of kills, they only trailed 20-18. Marietta could not make up the difference, though, and CMU claimed set two, 25-15.
The Pioneers started strong in set three, taking an 7-1 lead in early action.
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and Hacker both brought a pair of kills to help with the hot start. The Tartans started to chip away at the lead, scoring three straight. After trading a trio of traded possessions, CMU stormed back into the lead with a six-point rally. Marietta was able to tie at 14, 15, and took back the lead back off on
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) service ace, 17-16. The Tartans got a pair of clutch kills from Laura Reichard to get it to match point and Elizabeth Schlemmer finished off the match with a kill to win set three, 25-21.
The offense was led by
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) with 10 kills, who also led the team with three blocks.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) collected five kills and had six digs.
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) added five kills and led with 22 assists.
Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) led the defense with 12 digs in the match.
In the second match of the day, Marietta faced the host Wittenberg University. The Tigers rushed out to an 19-7 lead after Marietta struggled in early action. The Pioneers committed six attack errors in that stretch. Marietta tried to climb back and traded numerous possessions, but the differential was too great and Wittenberg took set one, 25-13.
Marietta trailed early in the second set but was very much in the game at 7-6. Wittenberg went on a four-point rally to extend the lead by five, but Marietta answered by taking six of the next eight points to cut the lead to 12-11. The run was fueled by some Tiger attack errors and a big kill from
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton). Later in the set,
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) took a great set from
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) and delivered a kill to tie at 16. Wittenberg answered with a five-point rally to take firm control, 21-16. Marietta fought back but the Tigers survived to win set two, 25-20.
The Pioneers rushed out to a 13-8 lead in set three with the aid of some sloppy play by Wittenberg. The Tigers fought back with four straight to cut the lead to one. The two teams traded several points but Marietta led 18-15 after a pair of
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) kills. The Tigers fought back to tie at 22 and found themselves at match point after a pair of kills.
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) tied it at 24 with a kill and
Sophie Evans (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) did the same to lock it at 25.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) delivered yet another kill to keep Marietta alive, tying it at 27. Wittenberg finished with a pairs of kills to close out the deciding set, 29-27.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) totaled seven kills to lead the Pioneers. Silva and
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) followed with six kills apiece.
Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) led the defense with 13 digs in the match.
The Pioneers will return home Wednesday (Oct. 18) when they battle Capital University in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup, with a scheduled start time of 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 X and Instagram.
