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The Marietta College volleyball team defended its home court in a five-set non-conference battle, outlasting Wittenberg University 3-2 (24-26, 25-16, 25-12, 22-25, 15-12) on Tuesday evening. The win improves the Pioneers to 6-4. The Tigers dropped to 3-5 with the loss.
A tightly contested opening set featured 12 tie scores. Marietta erased an 18-12 deficit with a six-point rally, fueled by four kills from Annabelle Hacker and strong serving by Keatyn Haynes. Late in the match, Hacker powered in another kill to take a late 23-20 lead. The Tigers fought back, taking five of the next six points, two from kills from Karlee Plozay to lead 25-24. Wittenberg then sealed the set on a joint block by Carmen Kelly and Maddie Luers, winning set one 26-24.
Marietta found its rhythm early jumping out to a 6-2 lead in set two. Elyse Smith spread the offense effectively to Karly Launder and Karley Allwood, while a 5-0 service run by Keatyn Haynes, including back-to-back aces, stretched the Pioneers’ lead to 18-10. Launder and Allwood scored late kills and McKenzie Heil locked up the set with a kill to win set two, 25-16, tying the match at one set apiece.
The Pioneers dominated the third frame from the beginning. Another dominant serving run by Keatyn Haynes yielded three aces during a 6-0 surge, pushing Marietta out to a 12-3 advantage. Emily Piehler provided continuous firepower on the outside with a trio of kills to blow the game open, finishing the third set with a 25-12 victory.
Wittenberg regrouped in the fourth, taking advantage of setter Mary Sulfridge’s connections with Kait Colahan and Lauren Sanders. Marietta mounted a late comeback off kills from Launder, but Wittenberg held firm taking set four 25-22 and forcing a deciding fifth set.
Emma Weiseman sparked Marietta in the tiebreaker, serving the Pioneers to an early 5-1 cushion with the help of a service ace and some Tiger errors. Wittenberg pulled within two points late, but Launder put down the final ball off an assist from Elyse Smith to secure the victory.
Launder led all players with 18 kills and also played well defensively, collecting 18 digs. Hacker and Piehler tied with 11 kills apiece. Hacker also led with 5 blocks. Keatyn Haynes led the team with seven aces and Kamryn Haynes led with a match high 27 digs. Weiseman ended with 15 digs. Smith led the team with 35 assists.
Marietta will next ravel to participate in the Grove City/Westminster Tournament this weekend. On Friday, the Pioneers will battle one of the hosts, Grove City, in a 2 p.m. matchup. They will follow that with a 5 p.m. tilt with Case Western Reserve.