NEW CONCORD, Ohio – After winning the first set, the Marietta College volleyball team dropped the next two against Muskingum University, only to come back to take the final two sets and defeat the Fighting Muskies 3-2 (25-18, 21-25, 24-26, 25-23, 15-10) on Tuesday (Oct. 22) evening. With the win the Pioneers remain undefeated at 18-0 overall and 6-0 in Ohio Athletic Conference play, and with the loss Muskingum falls to 10-10 overall and 2-4 in the OAC.
Muskingum got off to a quick start as they jumped out to 6-3 lead, getting a pair of kills from Mackenzie Krous. Later in the set, the Pioneers made a 10-point run, fueled by a trio of kills from
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) and a pair of kills from
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) to rush to a 16-9 advantage. After some traded points, Marietta extended the lead further as
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy) and
Sophie Evans (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) brought some powerful kills to push the lead to 20-12. Muskingum chipped away the lead but could not overcome the differential.
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) delivered the final kill and the Pioneers won set one, 25-18.
The second set saw both teams experience some attack errors in the early going, but Muskingum slipped out to a 12-7 lead getting a pair of key kills each from Krous and Halle Hutson. The Pioneers fought back, getting kills from Silva, Boyer, and the Fellers sisters to put it back to a 17-all deadlock. The Muskies then took the next four straight with the help of some Pioneer attack errors, but Marietta roared back with four straight of their to tie it back up at 21. Muskingum benefited from three straight Pioneer errors to put it at set point, and claimed set two with a service ace, winning 25-21.
Marietta jumped out to a 8-2 lead in the third set as Silva caught fire delivering on four kills. Later in the set, down 14-10, Muskingum powered forward to take five of the next seven points, tying the score at 16 and causing the Pioneers to take a timeout. Marietta grabbed the next three possessions, capped off by an ace from
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington). After some traded points, Marietta took it to set point with the score at 24-21. Muskingum fired back with three consecutive kills from Krous to tie it back up at 24 and then claimed the final two points off of Pioneer attack errors, closing out set three, 26-24.
Now facing elimination, Marietta got off to a quick 5-1 lead in set four, keyed by a pair of kills from
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), and later pushed the lead to five with consecutive kills from Boyer, Silva, and Evans. The Muskies came back, taking the next four possessions, to cut the lead to 9-8. Later, in a very crucial moment of the match, Muskingum appeared to take control with a seven point rally to take a late 17-13 lead, causing Marietta to take another timeout. Silva and
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) brought the Pioneers back with a pair of kills apiece and Marietta retook the lead at 20-18. After some traded points, Marietta finally clinched the set with a pair of kills from
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and won set four, 25-23.
In the deciding set five, Marietta inched out to a 7-4 lead after yet another
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) kill. Later, the Pioneers took another four straight to take a comfortable 12-7 advantage. The Muskies inched back but eventually ran out of steam. Boyer finished the contest with the final kill of the evening and Marietta survived, taking the final set 15-10.
The Pioneers were led by
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) with 18 kills, eight blocks, and she also collected 10 digs in the match. Silva added 16 kills.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) finished with 11 kills and eight digs.
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) masterfully distributed the ball as she collected 50 assists, and co-led the team with 21 digs, tying with
Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community).
Marietta will return to the court Friday (Oct. 25) when they travel to take on Baldwin Wallace University, with the match scheduled for 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 X and Instagram.
