Sports
Pioneers Win One, Lose One In Marietta Tri-Match
< < Back to pioneers-win-one-lose-one-marietta-tri-matchMarietta College split a doubleheader Saturday where they hosted Heidelberg University and West Liberty University. The Pioneers dropped their first match to Heidelberg in five sets (25-22, 25-17, 20-25, 16-25, 6-15) while they swept West Liberty in straight sets (25-11, 26-24, 25-22).
The Pioneers snatched the first two sets from Heidelberg (10-9), however, the Student Princes bounced back with three straight wins to take the match.
Freshman hitter Sarah Parker dominated for the Student Princes. Parker had a match-high 17 kills and a .457 attack percentage while adding six blocks for the match.
The Pioneers trailed only twice in the first two sets and they would take the lead merely one more time the rest of the match: a 2-0 lead in the fifth set. Marietta achieved a .143 kill percentage in the match-deciding set while the Student Princes posted a .533 kill percentage in that set.
Overall, the Student Princes dominated in the fifth set.
Heidelberg had eight kills and zero errors in the final set and the Pioneers had five kills and three errors. Marietta had four players with double digit kills, however the Pioneers committed 28 errors, including 13 service errors. Heidelberg was limited to 18 errors and out-killed the Pioneers 56-55.
Junior middle blocker Rachel Hackenberg led the way for Marietta with 12 kills while sophomore Keri Horton and senior Paige DeVriendt had 11 kills each. Junior setter Laura Mauer added a match-high 45 assists.
Despite dropping their first match, the Pioneers did not fret in their second match. They were able to rest while Heidelberg and West Liberty squared off; the Student Princes won that match in straight sets.
Led by a strong offensive attack, Marietta (10-12) defeated West Liberty (7-10) in straight sets to advance to 10-12 on the season. DeVriendt added 11 more kills and Mauer added an additional 36 assists.
The Pioneers’ next matchup comes Friday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m., where they play host to John Carroll University at Ban Johnson Arena to open Homecoming weekend.