LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Marietta College volleyball team lost a tough matchup to Marian University, 3-2 (20-25, 25-12, 22-25, 25-20, 14-16) on Friday (Sept. 8) afternoon at the first day of the Transylvania Invitational. With the loss the Pioneers fall to 3-1 overall and with the win the Sabres improve to 3-2 overall.  
 
The Pioneers fell behind in the first set, 5-1, but was able to cut the deficit to one with kill from Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington). Another Fellers kill and a service ace from Hallie Habermehl (Vermilion, Ohio/Vermiliion) later tied the match at seven. Marietta briefly grabbed the lead 11-9 as Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) delivered a kill and Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) scored on a service ace.  Later in the match, after Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) tied the score at 18 with a kill, Marian widened the lead to 23-19, causing the Pioneers to take a timeout.  Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) took a perfectly placed set from Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) and delivered a kill to briefly stop the momentum, but the Sabres were able to close out the first set, 25-20.

The Pioneers took control of the second set after the two battled to a 4-4 tie.  An ace from Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) and a kill from Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy) extended the lead to two.  That lead turned to four with the help of two aces from Riley Hohman (Copley, Ohio/Copley) and a Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) kill. A pair of Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) kills give Marietta their biggest lead of the set, 13-7.  Kills from Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton), and Spitler would extend the score to 18-12 and the Pioneers would close out the set on a 6-0run to claim set two, 25-12.
 
The Pioneers got off to a quick start in set three, taking a 4-2 lead.  Later in the match, Jillian Feller delivered a kill to give Marietta a 9-8 lead, but the Sabres roared back.  Marian would go on a 6-0 run to take the lead back, 14-9.  Marietta did not give and went on a 6-0 run of their own to take back the lead, 17-16.  Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and Silva provided kills in the run as well as an ace from Shannon.  With Marietta leading 22-20, Marian turned the tables and closed out the set on a 5-0 run, winning 25-22 and putting Marietta in a must-win situation.
  
In set four, the Pioneers got two quick kills from Silva and an ace from Hohman to jump out to a 5-1 lead.   After Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) delivered a kill to put the lead at 8-6, Marian went on a much needed four point run to put the Sabres back in the lead, 10-8.  The Pioneers would go on to win 7 of their next point to go back into the lead, 15-13, but Marian would claim the next two volleys to tie it again, this time at 15.  Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) would get Marietta back into the lead with a pair of kills, and with the lead at 21-20, Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) would deliver an amazing four consecutive service aces to claim the set, 25-20, and force a fifth set.  
 
Marian jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the deciding set, but Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) got Marietta the serve back after a thunderous kill.  Hohman followed with an ace to cut the lead to one.  The Sabres put more pressure on as they were able to take the lead back, eventually extending it to an 11-6 score.  Marietta fought back with a 4-0 run and then won two of the next three point to tie it at 12.  A pair of Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) kills put it at match point, 14-13, causing Marian to take a time out.  The Sabres then took two straight points to put themselves at match point.  Andrea Miller delivered the match winner with an ace and the Sabres would take the set 16-14.

The Marietta offense was led by Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) with 17 kills.  Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) ended with 15 kills and five blocks. Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) added 13 kills and led with 11 digs.  Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) had 48 assists.  Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) had seven aces and finished with 10 digs in the match.         

Marietta will play in day two of the Transylvania Invitational when they play Covenant College at 3:00 p.m. and follow that up with a match against the host Pioneers at 5 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.