Sports
Marietta Drops All But One Set In Opening Two Matches
By: Kellen Becoats
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The Marietta College Pioneers volleyball team was unable to notch a victory in its season-opening doubleheader, losing in straight sets to Alma College and in four sets to Case Western Reserve University.
In their first contest, the Pioneers’ offense was scrappy and at times left Alma on its heels, however the communication and stout defensive play of the Scots proved to be too much for Marietta. The final set scores were17-25, 20-25, 19-25.
The Scots forced the Pioneers into committing mistakes. While Alma committed a slim 12 errors, they forced the Pioneers into committing a hefty 22 errors.
Despite the errors, the Pioneers notched 29 kills and 26 assists. Sophomore hitter Kennedy Clyde had a team-high eight kills while junior setter Laura Mauer added a team-high 21 assists.
After losing in straight sets to Alma, the Pioneers focused their attention to the Spartans of Case Western.
The Case game proved to be more competitive as the Spartans took the opening set in heated fashion. However, Marietta bounced back in the second set and evened the match at one.
From there it was all Spartans.
Case Western went on to dominate in the third and fourth sets and handed the Pioneers their second straight loss. The final set scores were 23-25, 25-21,18-25,16-25.
Sophomore right side hitter Keri Horton led the team with 12 kills. Sophomore Chloe Janson at middle blocker provided an additional 11 hits. Mauer contributed 35 assists as well.
The Pioneers look to get back on track when they take on Hope College at 10 a.m. and Bluffton University at 12 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31 to finish out the Bluffton Spiketacular Tournament.