MARIETTA, Ohio – The undefeated and #1 seeded Marietta College volleyball team welcomed in #4 seed John Carroll University to a raucous Ban Johnson Arena Thursday (Nov. 14) evening in the semifinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament. The Pioneers outlasted the Blue Streaks in every set and won 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-23).
"Tonight's environment in the Banjo was incredible and we fed off of it," said Marietta head coach
Kristy Newman. "We played as a unit tonight and I could not be more proud of that!"
John Carroll got off to quick start with the help of Abbie Bednar as she supplied a trio of kills in the opening moments of set one. Later in the match, John Carroll got a pair of kills from Kendra Dziubinski and another pair from Bednar to take a 14-9 lead. The Pioneers begin to come back as
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) brought a pair of kills and followed it with a pair of aces to cut the lead to 17-15.
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) scored two consecutive kills to tie the score at 20. The Blue Streaks made a couple of attack errors to put them down by two late in the match, but took the serve back after an attack error from
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon). They then got two straight service aces to take the score to set point, causing the Pioneers to take a time out. When play resumed, the Pioneers got a kill from
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy) and then claimed the set off of an error by JCU. The Pioneers won set one, 26-24
The Pioneers opened the second set strong as they held an early 11-6 edge, but Bednar helped the Blues Streaks come back with a pair of kills. Natalie Glowe cut the lead to one with a kill but Boyer took the next play with a kill to put the score at 13-11. JCU could get no close than one point for the remainder of the set.
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) closed out with another pair of kills and yet another ace to put the set out of reach and Marietta claimed set two, 25-20.
The Pioneers looked to be in control in set three as they jumped out to 7-2 advantage, fueled by consecutive kills from
Sophie Evans (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta). JCU, though, put a stop to that momentum and actually tied back up with a five-point rally. Later, the Pioneers extended the lead to four as Spitler scored an ace, Boyer provided another kill, and
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) joined with Boyer for a spectacular block. The Blue Streaks came back yet again as Bednar converted a pair of kills, helping to tie it up at 14. JCU put some pressure on the Pioneers as they took a late lead. Glowe scored a trio of kills as John Carroll scored on six of the next eight possessions, pushing the score to 19-16. Marietta took advantage of some late Blue Streak errors to vault back to a 22-21 lead and claimed the match as
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and Boyer closed out with kills. Marietta won the set 25-23.
The Pioneer offense was led the Fellers sisters with 10 kills apiece. Boyer chipped in with nine kills. Jillian had a game-high five aces and Maggie led the team with five blocks. Spitler expertly distributed 41 assists and
Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) led a stellar defensive effort finishing with 28 digs.
The Pioneers will next be in action this Saturday (Nov. 17) as they welcome in #2 seed Otterbein University in the OAC Championship game. The Cardinals dispatched Mount Union 3-1 in the other semifinal to set up the matchup. Action is set to begin 1 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 X and Instagram.
