SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team closed out the 2025 regular season on a down note, dropping a road matchup to Wittenberg University, 3-1 (16-25, 25-20, 23-25, 19-25) Wednesday (Nov. 5) evening.  Despite the loss, Marietta finished the regular season with a 16-7 overall record and will be the #1 seed in the upcoming Ohio Athletic Conference tournament.  With the victory, Wittenberg improved to 17-7, after already completing a perfect 7-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
 
Marietta opened the first set trailing 6-4, but got a kill and an ace from Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) to swing to a 7-6 advantage.  The Tigers scored four straight with the help of a pair of kills by Claire O'Malley to jump back into to a 12-10 lead.  Marietta ties it at 12 after a kill from Emily Piehler (Medina, Ohio/Medina), but that would be as close as they would get for the rest of the set.  Wiittenberg took control with an 11-2 run and would cruise to a 25-16 set one victory.
 
The Pioneers raced out to an 8-3 lead in set two, getting kills from Karly Launder (Pleasant City, Ohio/Meadowbrook) AnnaBelle Hacker (Centerville, Ohio/Alter), Karley Allwood (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth), and Piehler.  The Tigers slowed the rally by taking three straight possessions, but Marietta got them right back using some Tiger attack errors and a kill from Fellers.  Launder powered another pair of kills on the way to a four point run, pushing the Pioneer lead to 15-7.  The Tigers fought back and took 10 of the next 13 possession to close the gap to one point, 19-18.  Launder kept the Pioneers in the lead as she powered another trio of kills and Marietta would take set two, 25-20.
 
The Pioneers got off to great start in set three as they pushed out to a 9-2 lead, benefiting from a series of Tiger mistakes.  The lead did not last as Wittenberg took eight of the next nine possessions to tie it at 10.  Fellers provided three more kills to help Marietta back out to a lead of four, and after some more Tiger attack errors, Marietta found themselves with an 18-13 lead.  Wittenberg again came back and tied it up at 20.  Things looks promising after the Pioneers got three straight kills to lead 23-20, but Wittenberg closed out taking the final five points to claim set three, 25-23.
 
After an early 3-3 tie, the Tigers took six of the next eight possessions to take a 9-5 lead.  Fellers tried to slow the pace with a pair of kills, but the Tigers returned the favor with a pair of kills from Sam Fincham on the way to a four-point run and a 13-7 advantage.  Hacker kept the Pioneers close with three kills which helped cut the lead to three.  Late in the set with the Tigers leading 21-15,  Marietta took four straight in a run that was fueled by two Fellers aces.  That would be as close as they would get as Wittenberg closed out with the final four points to complete the set four win, 25-19.  

Hacker led the offense with 13 kills.  Fellers finished with 11 kills and chipped in with four aces.  Allwood collected 10 kills.  Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) collected 43 assists and 10 digs.  Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) led the defense with 14 digs.  Kamryn Haynes (Williamstown, W.Va./Williamstown) also helped with 10 digs

Marietta's season will continue on as they earned the #1 seed in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament.  The Pioneers await the winner of the first round matchup between Ohio Northern and Baldwin Wallace, which will be played on Tuesday, November 11.  Thursday's semifinal match is scheduled to begin at 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.