MARIETTA, Ohio – The top-seeded Marietta College volleyball team welcomed in #5 seed Ohio Northern University to the Ban Johnson Arena Thursday (Nov. 13) evening for the semifinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament.  The Pioneers took down the Polar Bears 3-1 (25-17, 24-26, 25-19, 25-14) to move on to battle for the OAC championship.
 
Marietta got off to quick start with the help from kills from Karley Allwood (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth), Karly Launder (Pleasant City, Ohio/Meadowbrook), Emily Piehler (Medina, Ohio/Medina), and an ace from Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) to take a 5-1 lead.  Later in the match, the Polar Bears closed the lead to one after kills from Mylee Sapp and Summer Hoying, but the Pioneers then took seven straight possessions to build an 18-11 advantage.  The Pioneers then got a kill from Fellers and another pair of kills from Piehler to take full control.  Ohio Northern got a couple of points back but the deficit was too much to overcome and the Pioneers won set one, 25-17.  During the set, history was made as Fellers became the all-time Pioneer volleyball leader in kills.  
 
Both teams traded points to begin set two, but Marietta took a 5-3 lead after a trio of kills from Piehler.  Later in the match, with the Pioneers leading 14-10, Ohio Northern fought back to tie it at 14-all with the help of a kill and a block from Jocelyn Obszarski.  Marietta took advantage of some Polar Bear attack errors to build the lead back to seven, but Ohio Northern took eight of the next nine possession to tie it back at 22-22.  Fellers brought another kill to put the score at set point, but Ohio Northern stunned the Pioneers as they scored three straight to claim set two, 26-24.
 
The Pioneers looked to be in control in set three as they jumped out to 5-1 advantage, fueled by kills from Fellers and Piehler.  ONU, though, put a stop to that momentum and actually tied back up with a four-point rally.  Both team traded points which led to four ties, with the latest score at 15-15, but then Marietta took three straight to take an 18-15 lead.   ONU slowed the rally but could not complete the comeback.  AnnaBelle Hacker's (Centerville, Ohio/Alter) kill put the lead at four late in the match, and Marietta closed out with the final three points to take set three, 25-19.
 
Marietta began set four with another 5-1 lead as Piehler scored another pair of kills.  ONU fought back but Marietta was still able to extend the lead to 10-5 after another pair of kills from Launder.  The Pioneers took control of the set as they scored on six consecutive possessions, getting a pair of kills and a pair of blocks from Hacker.  ONU put some pressure on the Pioneers as they attempted to come back, but Marietta took five straight to push out to a 12-point lead.  The advantage was too much to overcome and the Pioneers closed out the set and the match with a set four victory,  25-14.  

The Pioneer offense was led the Fellers with 15 kills. Launder added 14 kills and Piehler brought 11 kills.  Allwood led all Pioneers with five blocks. Spitler distributed 50 assists and Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) led a stellar defensive effort finishing with 23 digs.
 
The Pioneers will next be in action this Saturday (Nov. 15) as they welcome in #2 seed Otterbein University in the OAC Championship game.  The Cardinals defeated Muskingum 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.