NEW CONCORD, Ohio – The Marietta College volleyball team swept a pair of matches on Saturday (Sept. 13) at the Muskie Invitational Volleyball tournament.  The Pioneers got a tough straight sets victory over Case Western Reserve University 3-0 (25-21, 30-28, 25-20), and then defeated Mount St. Joseph 3-1 (25-12, 27-25, 21-25, 25-14). 


After easing out to a 3-all tie in set one, the Pioneers jumped out to a three-point lead after an Emma Weiseman (Monroe, Ohio/Monroe) ace and kills from Karly Launder (Pleasant City, Ohio/Meadowbrook) and AnnaBelle Hacker (Centerville, Ohio/Alter).  CRWU rushed back as Amanda Ngo powered a trio of kills and the Spartans retook the lead at 11-10.   Karley Allwood (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) answered with a kill to tie up the set, and Launder and Hacker provided kills to give back the lead to Pioneers.  Both teams traded the next several possession, but Case edged back into the advantage with a kill from Elena Esquivel to lead 20-18.  Jillian Fellers (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) got Marietta back on track with a kill, giving the Pioneers some momentum, and they would go on to take five of the final seven points.  Launder finished the set with a kill and Marietta claiming the first set, 25-21.  

The Spartans got off to quick start in set two as they took an 8-4 lead, but Marietta came back with kills from Hacker, Fellers, and Launder to tie at 8-all.  Both teams battled and kept the score close at 14-14.  The Pioneers then took four straight, two from kills from Launder, to take the advantage.  CWRU stayed close, but every time they tried to tie up, Fellers powered down a kill to keep Marietta in the lead.  Late in the set, the Spartans got a kill from Katie Yanni to tie it at 27, and after a Pioneer attack error, CWRU found themselves at set point. Launder tied it up on the next possession with a kill.  The Pioneers then took the lead with a Spartan attack error and Fellers followed with a kills to finally claim the set.  The Pioneers would outlast the Spartans in set two, 30-28.

In the third set, the both team pushed to a six-all tie, but the Pioneers would gradually take control, taking six straight points.  Although the Spartans hung around and stayed close, Marietta kept up the advantage for the remainder of the set.  Fellers came up large in the final possessions, bringing four kills to close out set, 25-20.
 
Feller led the Marietta offense with 19 kills and also provided 13 digs.  Launder finished with a career-high 17 kills.  Hacker brought eight kills and led the team with four blocks.  Emory Spitler (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) collected 56 assists.    Keira Shannon (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) led the defensive effort with a game high 18 digs and Kamryn Haynes (Williamstown, W.Va./Williamstown) added another 13 digs.  

In the second matchup of the day, the Pioneers took the first two sets from the Lions before dropping the third set. They came back to clinch the match with a set four victory and defeated Mount St. Joseph 3-1. With the victory, the Pioneers improve to 8-1 on the season.
 
In the first set, Marietta got the first point off of a kill from Fellers and never looked back.  Launder brough a kill to put the lead at 5-1.  Later, a pair of kills from Hacker pushed the advantage to six.  Marietta later pushed the lead to 10 with a kill from Allwood, after a kill from McKenzie Heil (Westlake, Ohio/Huron) late in the match, Marietta led 20-9.  The Lions could not make up the difference and Marietta claimed the 25-12 set one victory. 
 
Mount St. Joseph took a 4-1 lead in set two, but the Pioneers fought back to tie it at seven.  Marietta slowly widened the gap over the next several possession with the help of some Lion attack errors. With Marietta leading 19-16, though, the Lions clawed back with a pair of kills from Aubrey Miranda to even the score.  After some traded points, Miranda put the score at set point with a Miranda kill.  Hacker got the point back with a kill of her own.  Emma Weiseman (Monroe, Ohio/Monroe) scored a service ace and Launder bought the final point and Marietta claimed set two, 27-25. 
 
With their backs to the wall, the Lions fell behind by five point early in set three but battled back, eventually tying it at 16.  Late in the set, Emma Sicking made her mark with four kills to keep up the pressure and the Lions never relinquished the lead, taking set three, 25-21.
 
The Pioneers rushed out to a 11-6 lead in set four, powered by a trio of kills from Fellers and Launder apiece. The Pioneers eventually took control as they pushed the lead out to 20-11 and never looked back, set four and the match, 25-14.
 
Fellers led the Pioneers with 17 kill and 21 digs.  Launder finished with 11 kills.  Allwood finished with five kills and led with five blocks.  Spitler finished with 35 assists and Haynes chipped in with 17 digs.
 
After the tournament, Fellers and Spitler were both named to the all-tournament team.

Marietta will make the home debut this Tuesday (Sept. 16) as they will play Denison University, with a schedule start time of 7 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.