MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team was in action Friday (Nov. 3) evening as they battled with Bethany College in a late season non-conference matchup regular.  The Pioneers defeated the Bison, 3-1 (17-25, 27-25, 25-18, 25-13).  

Marietta got off to a rough start as they fell behind 10-1 in set one.  The run was fueled by a pair of kills from Emma Marthins and a pair of aces from Alaina Torres.  The Pioneers attempted to chip away at the lead and fought back to trail only by two 13-11.  Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) delivered three kills and Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) brought two kills in the rally.  After the two teams traded several possessions, Bethany took firm control of the set.  The Bison would score six of the final seven points to take set one, 25-17.  

The Bison edged out to an 7-5 lead in set two before going on four point rally, extending the lead to six points. Marietta got back into the set with kills from Sophie Evans (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) and Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) and blocks from Maggie and Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), but still found themselves trailing by four, 19-15.  Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) tied the set with a pair of kills that completed a four-point rally, but Bethany took the next three possessions to lead 22-19.  Kills from Silva, Spitler, and Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) tied it at 23 and then the Pioneers took advantage of some Bison attack errors to complete the comeback win the set, 27-25.
 
Marietta rushed out to an 7-3 lead in set three, but Bethany was able to hang close to cut the lead to 10-8.  Marietta took five of the next six points as the Pioneer front line fired off multiple kills.  Bethany then began to collect some attack errors to help extend the Pioneer advantage to 21-12.  The Bison did what they could to get back into the set but the rally fell short.  A kill from Evans stopped the rally and the Pioneers would take set three, 25-18.

The Pioneers opened the fourth set with a 10-3 lead as Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) brought a pair of kills and a service ace.  Later in the set, Marietta kept the pressure up as they scored on four straight possessions to extend the lead to 15-6.  The Bison did not help themselves as they began to commit some crucial attack errors, pushing the Pioneer advantage to 22-9.  Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and Silva finished off the set with kills and the Pioneers won the deciding set, 25-13.  

Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) put together a complete game as she led the offense with 13 kills and led the defensive effort with 24 digs.  She also shared the team lead with Annabelle Hacker (Centerville, Ohio/Alter) with five blocks.  Evans played well, collecting 10 kills and Silva finished the match with eight kills. Spitler also collected eight kills and led with 37 assists. 

Marietta will finish their regular season on Saturday (Nov. 4) as they welcome in Hiram College.  The match scheduled to begin at 1 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.