ADA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team participated in the 44th annual Ohio Northern Invitational and were defeated in both of their matchups on the day. They were defeated by Albion College 3-1 (25-22, 15-25, 20-25, 19-25) on Friday (Sept 15) afternoon and then were defeated by Calvin University 3-0 (11-25, 22-25, 14-25).
After some early back and forth action in set one of the first match, Albion took a 9-7 lead after an attack error from
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton). The Pioneers roared back, winning six of the next seven points, fueled by a Silva kill and a pair of kills from
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington). Marietta extended the lead to 19-16 after
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) delivered a pair of kills. Albion was able to get back to a 21-all tie, but Marietta gained control in the closing moments.
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) had two kills in the closing run and the Pioneers took the first set, 25-12.
Marietta and Albion traded leads in the early part of set two.
Annabelle Hacker (Centerville, Ohio/Alter) provided early offense with three kills as both teams were tied at 10-all. The Britons began to take control as they ripped off nine of the next 11 points to jump out to a 19-12 lead. Marietta could not make up the difference and Albion claimed set two, 25-15.
The Pioneers started strong in set three, taking an 11-3 lead in early action.
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) brought three kills and Silva delivered two kills and the Pioneers appeared to have things in control. Albion answered with nine straight points and took the lead 12-11.
Sophie Evans (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) and
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) both brought kills and Marietta lead 17-16. The Britons applied more pressure, taking nine of the final 12 points and won set three, 25-20.
Things looked down as set four began as Albion jumped off to an 11-5 lead. The Pioneers chipped at the lead and, after a kill from
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) and a pair of
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) kills, Marietta found themselves down only one point, 14-13. The Britons would go on mini runs but Marietta would answer back. Albion still led 18-17 when
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) scored on a service ace, but got possession on the next play when Carly Frank delivered a crucial kill. Marietta would only go on to score one more point and Albion cruised to a set four victory, 25-19.
The offense was led by
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) with 17 kills, who also led the team with five blocks.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) totaled 12 kills and had 16 digs.
Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) led the defense with 24 digs in the match.
In the second match of the day, Marietta got some stiff competition from Calvin University. The Wolverines rushed out to an 19-4 lead after Marietta struggled in early action. The Pioneers committed 10 attack errors in that stretch. Marietta tried to climb back in but the differential was too great and Calvin took set one, 25-11.
Marietta jumped out quickly to a 8-4 lead in the second set as
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) scored on a pair of aces and Silva delivered a pair of kills. The Knights chipped away at the lead and, after a four point run, claimed a 12-10 lead. Both teams battled back and forth, answering each other's scoring runs. After tying it up at 20, Calvin would take five of the next seven points to win set two, 25-22.
The Knights rushed out to a 12-5 lead in set three and Marietta could not do much to stop the attack.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) brought a pairs of kills to cut the lead to 13-8. After Calvin extended the lead to 18-9, Silva scored on a pair of kills to put the differential back to six. The Pioneers could get no closer, though, and Calvin closed out the deciding set, 25-14.
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) totaled eight kills to lead the Pioneers. Silva and
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) followed with six kills apiece.
Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) led the defense with 12 digs in the match.
The Pioneers will return to the court Saturday (Sept. 16) when they participate in the Muskingum Invitational. Marietta will battle Mount St. Joseph at 1 p.m. and Earlham College at 3 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.
