MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team opened up the conference schedule with a decisive straight sets victory over Baldwin Wallace (25-16, 25-18, 25-14) on Saturday (Sept. 30) afternoon.  With the win the Pioneers improve to 6-7 overall and 1-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and with the loss Baldwin Wallace falls to 7-8 overall, and 0-1 in OAC action.  
 
"Today's match was a great way to open up conference play!," said Marietta Head Volleyball coach Kristy Newman.  "The women did a great job of creating a high energy environment and having a next ball mentality today. That is what we will need to keep as we move onto our Match Wednesday!"

The Yellow Jackets rushed out to the 3-0 lead in set one but the Pioneers were able to climb back to tie at four with kills from Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) and Sophie Evans (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) and an ace from Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community).  Marietta took advantage of some Baldwin Wallace attack errors to take the lead at 10-7.  Marietta would take five of the next seven points, fueled by another kill from Evans and one from Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) to extend the lead to 15-10.  Later in the set, Marietta took four straight point to put the game at set point, with Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) providing crucial kills.  The final point was scored when the Yellow Jackets committed their 10th attack error of the set, giving the Pioneers the first set, 25-16.

The Pioneers led the second set 12-2 after getting kills from Annabelle Hacker (Centerville, Ohio/Alter), Evans, and Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and also getting more attack errors from Baldwin Wallace.  The Yellow Jackets climbed back into the set as they ripped off four consecutive kills to now trail only 17-14.  Silva and Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) powered the Pioneers with kills, pushing the lead back out to 21-14.  Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and Silva teamed up on numerous blocks during the set to quiet any Baldwin Wallace rallies. Kills from Spitler and Silva closed out the set and Marietta won, 25-18.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the third set, but BW fought back to cut the lead to 8-5.  Silva and Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) got hot once again, bringing more kills and pushing the Pioneer lead back out to 11-5. Late in the set, Marietta had two four-point runs that essentially put any hopes of a Yellow Jackets come back as impossible.  Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) put the exclamation point on the match with a kill and Marietta took the third set, 25-14.  

The Marietta offense was led by Silva with nine kills and Maggie and Jillian with eight kills apiece.  Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and Silva also collected an incredible eight blocks apiece.  Spitler led with 30 assists.  Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) led the Pioneer defense with 10 digs and tallied three aces in the match.  

Marietta will return to the court Wednesday (Oct. 4) when they welcome in Muskingum University, with the match scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

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.