NEW CONCORD, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team participated in the Muskingum Invitational on Saturday (Sept 16) and had a split on the day.  The Pioneers were defeated by Mt. St. Joseph 3-0 (22-25, 20-25, 18-25) in the early afternoon but then returned later to defeat  Earlham College 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 25-19).

Marietta rushed out to an 11-6 lead in set one against Mt. St. Joseph with Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) leading with some early offense.  The Lions stormed back, winning eight of the next 10 points, and took the lead 14-13.  The two teams traded kills and tied the score four times over the next few points.    After a Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) kill put the score at 20-18, Mt. St. Joseph took six of the next seven points and claimed the first set, 25-22.  

Mt. St. Joseph rushed out to a 12-5 lead in set two.  Marietta would take six of the next eight points, thanks in part to two Silva kills, and would cut the lead to 14-11.  The Lions would extend the advantage to 21-14, but Marietta would attempt another comeback.  They would take six of the next eight points to cut the lead to 23-20, fueled by two kills from Annabelle Hacker (Centerville, Ohio/Alter), but could not make up the difference.  The Lions took set two, 25-20.

Things took a downward turn in set three as Mt. St. Joseph jumped off to an 15-6 lead.  The Pioneers tried to chip away at the lead with a pair of Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) kills, putting the lead at 17-12.  Marietta could not get any closer and the Lions cruised to a set three victory, 25-18.

The offense was led by Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) with 12 kills.  Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) totaled nine kills and Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) added eight kills.  Spitler finished with 35 assists and Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) led the defense with 14 digs in the match.  
 
In the second match of the day, Marietta got off to a slow start against Earlham College as they quickly fell behind 5-0 in the first set.  Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) got the hot hand and the Pioneers came back with a run off their own, providing three kills to take the lead 9-7.  A trio of kills from Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) extended the lead to 16-11.  The Quakers showed some life as they came back to tie at 17, but Marietta closed strong with eight of the last 11 points, three of those off of kills from Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton).  Marietta took set one, 25-20.  

Marietta jumped out quickly to a 7-2 lead in the second set as Sophie Evans (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) scored on a pair of kills.  Earlham came back, chipping away at the lead and taking advantage of some Pioneer attack errors, and eventually took a 14-13 lead.  After the lead was extended to 19-16, Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) tried to get the Pioneers back with two powerful kills, closing the gap to 20-19.  That would be as close as Marietta could get in the set as Earlham closed out with five of the final six points to win set two, 25-20.

The Pioneers rushed out to a 8-4 lead in set three, fueled by kills from Annabelle Hacker (Centerville, Ohio/Alter) and Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington). Later in the set, Silva provided two big kills to extend the Pioneer lead to 14-7.   Earlham cut into the lead with a four point run but could get no closer.  Marietta closed out the third set,  25-19.  
 
Marietta found themselves down 8-6 early in set four, but would start to get control as the front line would convert on kill after kill.  Marietta would take 10 of the next 12 points, fueled by three kills from Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), and would enjoy a 16-10 advantage.  The Quakers would try to stay close as they could, fighting to get the differential back to 21-18.  Marietta closed out the match with a pair of kills from Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and would take the deciding set, 25-19.

Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) totaled 18 kills to lead the Pioneers and finished with three blocks.  Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) finished with 13 kills and 10 digs.  Silva finished with 12 kills and 3 blocks.  Annabelle Hacker (Centerville, Ohio/Alter) led the Pioneers with four blocks.  Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) finished with 38 assists. Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) led the defense with 13 digs in the match.  

The Pioneers will return to Marietta to play their home opener this Tuesday (Sept. 19) when they battle Denison University.  The match io 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.