Sports
Pios Smash Fighting Muskies In Straight Sets
< < Back toMarietta College has struggled as of late; there is no question about it.
The Pioneers entered Tuesday having dropped four of their last five games, however, they would not allow their recent misfortunes to get in the way against Muskingum University.
The Pioneers traveled to New Concord, Ohio, Tuesday night and defeated the Fighting Muskies in straight sets: 25-19, 25-20 and 25-22. The win gave Marietta its first victory in conference play while giving Muskingum (10-11, 1-3 OAC) its third conference loss.
The Pioneers (11-13, 1-3 OAC) showed improvement on the offensive side of the ball.
Marietta posted 38 kills and a .155 kill percentage in its three-set win. They had 38 kills and a mere .084 kill percentage in five sets against John Carroll Oct. 11.
The attack was led by sophomore middle blocker Chloe Janson, who had a match-high 10 kills while posting a .206 kill percentage with three blocks. Junior middle blocker Rachel Hackenberg was second on the team with nine kills.
The offensive performance was accompanied by stellar defensive play, as well.
Marietta limited the Fighting Muskies to 34 kills and were able tally 79 digs defensively. The Fighting Muskies did not help themselves, either, as they failed to record a kill percentage of more than .100 in the final two sets and committed 19 errors.
Sophomore libero Mary Ervin led the Pioneers with 24 of those 79 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Kennedy Clyde added 15 digs and senior defensive specialist Amber Wiley posted 14 digs from the back line.
Janson and sophomore hitter Keri Horton added three blocks apiece.
The Pioneers look to make it two straight when they take to Ada, Ohio, Friday, Oct. 18, for an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup against the Ohio Northern Polar Bears. Ohio Northern (14-7, 3-1 OAC) is coming off of a straight-set win over then No. 14-ranked Otterbein Tuesday night.
First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.