ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team overcame an early slow start to defeat Buffalo State in day one of the Mount Union Invitational on Friday (Sept. 1). The Pioneers defeated the Bengals 3-1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-15, 25-13).
The Pioneers got into an early deficit in the first set. Marietta fell behind 6-0, fueled by four kills from Buffalo State's Ella Wittman. The Pioneers chipped away at the lead and eventually cut the lead to 15-9 with the help of three kills from
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington). The Pioneers later scored on four straight to cut the lead to two, 19-17, causing Buffalo State to call a time out. The gap closed to one late in the set as
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy) registered a kill from an assist from
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon), putting the score at 23-22. The Bengals got the serve back and finished the set with another Wittman kill, winning 25-22
The second set stayed close as both teams battled back in forth to a 7-all tie. Marietta gain the advantage with a
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) kill and two service aces from
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton). Silva later collected a pair of kills to widen the lead to 17-11. The Bengals got a kill from Erin Mergler to briefly stop the momentum, but the Pioneers ripped off a seven of the next nine points to cruise to a set-2 victory, 25-14.
The Pioneers took control of the third set, racing out to 17-9 lead. Boyer contributed early with three kills and Maggie Feller began to heat up, collecting a total of five kills during the set. Marietta cruised to a 25-15 third set victory.
Marietta jumped out to a 6-0 lead in set four, based on some Buffalo State attack errors, and then to a 9-1 lead with yet another kill from
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington). The Pioneers would go on to take nine of the final 13 points to take the fourth and final set, 25-13.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) led the Marietta offense with 15 kills in the match.
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and Silva were close behind with 12 kills apiece. Boyer finished with 10 kills. Spitler led with 45 assists.
Sophie Evans (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) and
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) tied with two block solos apiece. Defensively,
Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) led the Pioneers with 24 digs.
The Pioneers will return to the Mount Union Invitational Saturday (Sept. 2) when they play Ohio Wesleyan at 10 a.m. and SUNY Brockport at noon.
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.
