MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team was in action Saturday (Nov. 4) afternoon as they battled with Hiram College in a match to conclude the 2023 regular season.  The Pioneers  defeated the Terriers, 3-1 (17-25, 25-14, 25-13, 25-15).  Marietta finished the regular season with a 15-11 overall record.  With the defeat, Hiram dropped to 9-18

Hiram opened the first set on a quick 6-3 run, causing the Pioneers to take a quick timeout.  The early Terrier offense was sparked by a pair of kills from Andrya Hanmore.  A pair of kills from Hiram's Emily Richardson increased the lead to 11-5.  Later in the match, a block from Annabelle Hacker (Centerville, Ohio/Alter) and Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) got the serve back and Fellers followed with a kill on the next possession to cut the Hiram lead to 15-13.  A block from Cate Maguire and Kayla Franks placed the score at 19-17 and a pair of Pioneer attack errors helped push the Hiram lead to five, 22-17.  The Pioneers could not overcome the deficit and the Terriers would go on to take the set. 25-17.
 
The two teams battled to an 4-all tie to begin set two, but a pair of Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) kills pushed the lead to 7-5. Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) converted three straight kills to extend the lead to 10-6.  After a kill from Maguire to stop the Pioneer momentum, Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) answered with a kill and then Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) followed with a skip-set attack to put the lead at 13-8.  Later in the match, kills from Hacker, Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), and Spitler extended the lead to 21-11.  Hiram answered with a Maguire kill and an ace from Brooke Fishback, but the Pioneers received a kill from Silva to take back the serve and would not relinquish it.  Marietta scored the final three points to take set two, 25-14.
 
The Terriers started set three with a service ace, but Marietta answered with thunderous kills from Silva, Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), and Sophie Evans (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) to move to an early 3-1 set one lead.  Hiram regained a one-point lead off a kill from Karissa Zelenak, an ace from Madison Russell, and a pair of Marietta attack errors.  Marietta then went on a five-point rally, getting kills from Spitler, Evans, and Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), to extend the lead to 9-5.  After Marietta pushed the lead to 14-8, Hiram scored two straight to briefly stop the momentum.  The Pioneers answered with kills from Silva and Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) to put the score at 16-10.  Silva followed with a trio of additional kills to push the lead to eight, causing Hiram to take a timeout. The Pioneers would take the score to set point, but the Terriers hung on the to score twice to stay alive, only to commit an attack error to close out the set.   The Pioneers won the set, 25-13.  

The fourth set saw the Pioneers rush to an early 5-1 advantage, but Hiram fought back to trail only by one with the help of some Pioneer attack errors.  Evans answered with a powerful kill to give the Pioneers a 6-4 lead.  Another Spitler skip-set attack and an ace from Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) pushed the lead to 10-6 and caused the Terriers to take a timeout.  With the Pioneer lead at 14-8, Hiram got kills from Hanmore and Brooke Norris to cut the lead to four.  Claire Brunner scored on a service ace to cut the lead to two, but Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) answered with a kill to stop the rally.  Marietta took the next seven points to extend the lead to 23-13.  The run was fueled by kills from Spitler, Evans, and Hacker.  The Terriers survived by taking the next two possessions, but a block from Hacker and Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) got the serve back and put the game at match point.  Riley Hohman's (Copley, Ohio/Copley) service ace finished off the match and the Pioneers won 25-15.  

Silva led the offense with 15 kills and also contributed on two kills.  Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) had a big day with 14 kills, three blocks, and had 19 digs in the matchup.  Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) added 13 kills and led with 21 digs.  Spitler led with 45 assists.  

Marietta's season will continue on as they earned a spot in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament.  The Pioneers notched the #2 seed with their 7-2 conference record and will host a semi-final matchup on Thursday (Nov. 9).  They await the winner of the first round matchup between Mount Union and Baldwin Wallace.  Thursday's semifinal match is scheduled to begin at 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 Twitter and Instagram.