ADA, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team opened the Ohio Athletic Conference schedule on the road Friday (Oct. 4) evening as they battled with Ohio Northern University and had survive a five-set thriller, outlasting the Polar Bears 3-2 (20-25, 25-18, 25-23, 24-26, 15-11). With the win, the Pioneers remain unbeaten at 12-0 (1-0 in OAC). Ohio Northern drops to 12-4 overall and 0-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
"We showed grit tonight in an intense and rowdy ONU environment," said Marietta head coach
Kristy Newman. "I am proud of how our entire team carried themselves and pushed through to come out with the W!"
Set one got off to a rough start for the #13-ranked Pioneers as Ohio Northern jumped out to an 11-1 lead. The Polar Bears had an even distribution of kills, getting a pair from Erin Wagner, Olivia Baumann, and Summer Hoying. The Pioneers tried to inch back in with a pair of kills from
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton), which cut the lead to 12 to 5. Marietta would later go on a four-point rally by getting kills from
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy) and getting a service ace from
Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community), cutting the lead to 13-9. After some traded points, Marietta took three straight to keep the deficit at four, but that would be as close as they would get for the remainder of the set. The Polar Bears held on to win set one, 25-20.
Ohio Northern pushed out to an 8-4 lead in set 2, but the Pioneers slowed the momentum with consecutive kills from
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) to cut the lead to two. Fellers then played a big part in a six-point rally for the Pioneers, getting a kill and two service aces, giving Marietta a 12-10 advantage. Later in the set, Marietta took five of six points, fueled by a pair of kills from Silva, to put the Pioneer lead at four. Ohio Northern could not get closer and Marietta closed out the final four points to win the second set, 25-18.
Marietta jumped out to a 6-4 lead in set three, but watched the lead evaporate as the Polar Bears rattled off seven straight points. Marietta answered with a five point rally of their own to swing back to a 14-13 lead. After ONU retook the lead with a three-point rally, Marietta took advantage of some Polar Bear attack errors to once again vault back to a two-point advantage. Silva provided a pair of crucial kills to bring it to set point and
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) scored the set-winner with a powerful blast to give Marietta a narrow 25-23 victory in set three.
The fourth set saw both teams deadlocked at five before the Pioneers tried to create some distance, taking four of the next five points to lead 10-6. Later, Marietta took five of the next six possessions, capped off by a kill from
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) to take a seemingly comfortable 15-9 advantage. ONU climbed back into the set and got three service aces from Haley Hammer to cut the lead to two. Later in the set, the Polar Bears scored on three straight possessions to tie at 21-all. After some traded possessions, the Pioneers found themselves at match point after a ONU service error, but could not seal the deal. ONU scored the final three points to win set four, 26-24, and forcing a fifth set.
In the deciding fifth set, both teams traded serves and pushed out to a 5-all tie. Marietta took back the momentum with a vengeance as they scored six straight points, fueled by a pair of kills from
Sophie Evans (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta). The Pioneers got to match point once again after a pair of Polar Bear attack errors, but had to withstand one final push by ONU. The rally would fall short and
Emory Spitler's (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) kill finally finished the evening as the Pioneers would go on to claim the crucial OAC match with a 15-11 win in the final set.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) led the Pioneers with 18 kills and two aces. Silva finished with 17 kills and had four block assists.
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) provided 12 kills as well as six blocks and 10 digs. Spitler led with 52 assists and Shannon spearheaded a fine Pioneer defensive effort, leading the way with 29 digs.
Marietta returns home for a showdown with Otterbein University this Wednesday (Oct. 9) with the match beginning at 7 p.m. Both teams were ranked in the preseason tied for number one in the conference.
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.
