ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team got off to a strong start in the 2025 season with a pair of victories on the day one of the Mount Union Invitational on Friday (Aug. 29).  The Pioneers defeated Clarkson 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-14, 25-18) and then followed that by beating DePauw University 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 29-27). 

The Pioneers got into an early deficit in the first set against Clarkson, falling behind 17-11.  Marietta got consecutive kills from AnnaBelle Hacker (Centerville, Ohio/Alter), Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), and Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) to cut into the lead.  Later in the set, the Pioneers took advantage of several Clarkson attack errors, including four of the last five points, to claim set one, 25-22.
 
The Golden Knights jumped out to a 7-2 lead in set two, but Marietta fought back to tie it at 7-all, fueled by a pair of aces from Fellers.  The two teams battled back and forth for the next several points, including eight ties and two lead changes, to put the score at 17-all.  Clarkson fired off a trio of kills to take the lead and held on to take set two, 25-23.
 
Marietta pushed out to a big 18-8 lead in set three, getting three kills from Emily Piehler (Medina, Ohio/Medina), and two kills from Karley Allwood (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) and Hacker.  Clarkson tried to inch back but could not overcome the difference and Marietta claimed a 25-14 set three victory.
 
The Pioneer again moved out to a big advantage in set four, leading 17-9.  The Knights tried to fight back with three consecutive points, but Marietta put it away as Karly Launder (Pleasant City, Ohio/Meadowbrook) provided a pair of kills  and Marietta closed out set three, 25-18.

Launder led the Marietta offense with 12 kills in the match and Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) finished with 11 kills.  Spitler led with 26 assists.  Defensively, Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) led the Pioneers with 20 digs and Fellers was close behind with 13 digs.
 
In the second matchup of the evening, Marietta got off to a quick start in set one as Kamyrn Haynes supplied a pair of service aces and kill to give the Pioneers a 7-3 lead.  Later in the set, Marietta took six of eight point as Fellers collected a trio of kills and Piehler added another pair.  DePauw fought back and got it as close as 20-18, but the Pioneers claimed the final five points and took set one, 25-18.
 
In set two, the Pioneers pushed forward to an early 11-6 advantage, causing the Tigers to call a time out.  After the pause, DePauw benefited from several errors committed by Marietta to level the score at 12.  Launder and Allwood got the Pioneers back on track with a kill apiece and Hacker took over in the final possession with four crushing kills to give Marietta a decisive 25-16 set two win.
 
Facing an early exit, DePauw played well in the early parts of set three, jumping out to a 13-9 lead.  After some traded points, Marietta received the benefits of some Tiger errors to tie the set at 18.  The Pioneers were able to take their first lead of the set as they rattled off three straight kills, two from Fellers, to set the score at 23-21.  The Tigers were able to fight back from match point and tied it at 25.  Launder provided three kills as the two teams traded possession, but Allwood finished the matchup with a powerful kill and Marietta outlasted the Tigers 29-27 to claim the win.
 
Fellers led the Pioneers with 11 kills and 16 digs.  Launder added 10 kills.  Spitler led with 38 assists and added 12 digs.  Shannon also added to the defensive effort with 12 digs.

 
The Pioneers will return to the Mount Union Invitational Saturday (Aug. 30) when they play Alfred University at 10 a.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.