MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta, ranked eighth nationally, will have to wait a little longer for the program's first Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament championship.
The Pioneers, who won the OAC regular season championship with a perfect 9-0 record, lost to Otterbein 3-1 (25-20, 25-23, 11-25, 26-24) in the championship game on Saturday at Ban Johnson Fieldhouse.
"It just wasn't our day," said Marietta coach
Kristy Newman. "The things that normally work didn't work, but we get to go back and watch and figure out why they didn't work."
It was Marietta's first loss of the season, but the Pioneers (23-1) are almost a lock to earn a spot in the NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament. The pairings will be announced Monday. It would be Marietta's first NCAA appearance in program history.
"We're going to be just fine. It's been sort of a running joke that I said I don't want to go undefeated," Newman said. "We have to lose at some point and how we respond now is going to be huge. One thing that I think we do really well is love each other. We've been able to love each other through the rainbows and sunshine, now we find out how we love each other after a loss."
Marietta was slotted second in the Region VII rankings, which bodes well for an at-large spot in the postseason.
The Cardinals (21-8) have won their last seven games and earned the OAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Otterbein's aggressive play at the net was the difference in the first two sets. Kennedy Huffman led the Cardinals with 18 kills and two blocks, while Kristen Scherger added 11 kills, two assists and two blocks. Olivia Vitaz had 33 assists, while Emerson Baum had six blocks.
Marietta defeated Otterbein 3-1 back on October 9 on Fenton Court and rallied on Saturday to win the third set. The Pioneers led 24-23 in the fourth set, but Otterbein scored the final three points for the win.
OAC Player of the Year
Maggie Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) had a team-best 10 kills, while also adding four blocks, four aces and three assists.
Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) had 36 assists and two aces, while
Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and
Sophie Evans (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) each had nine kills.
Mia Silva (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) and
Ella Boyer (Bay Village, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy) each had eight kills.
Newman stressed to her veteran squad that this loss will not define their season.
"They're special and really good group, so now they'll stay together. We're going to watch the film and learn from it," she said. "That trophy that we have for the regular season is still history and that's still incredible. That's something they need to be proud of and that Coach Hadley (Florence) and I are still so proud of them."
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.
