Sports
Marietta Falls To Baldwin Wallace In Fifth Set
By: Kellen Becoats
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Marietta College was looking for a return to form with its last game of the regular season against Baldwin Wallace University. The Pioneers put up a tough fight but ultimately fell in a tense five set match to the Yellow Jackets, 25-18, 25-19, 19-25, 17-25 and 20-18.
The Pios (12-16, 2-7 OAC) were competitive in the first two sets, causing multiple ties and forcing many lead changes, but found themselves down, 2-0, to Baldwin Wallace (11-17, 4-5 OAC) going into the break.
The third set is where Marietta found its bearings, starting slowly and facing a 4-1 deficit. But the Pios were determined to not fall in straight sets, as they have seven times this season. Marietta tied it at six all with a 4-2 run spearheaded by Yellow Jackets’ service errors
With Marietta leading, 14-12, Baldwin Wallace looked frustrated and confused, so head coach Vicki Brault called a timeout to try and sort things out. But the Yellow Jackets never reclaimed the lead, as Marietta’s offense capitalized on multiple attack errors and four kills by sophomore middle blocker Chloe Janson. The Pios claimed the last three points to take their first set of the match.
And the Pioneers weren’t done yet, as they took a quick 6-0 lead in the fourth set capped by a service ace from freshman defensive specialist Mallory Vodopich. And Marietta kept a pretty substantial lead throughout the whole set to snag a comfortable fourth set win.
The final set proved to be more difficult despite an early 3-0 lead by Marietta. Baldwin Wallace wasn’t ready to give up and quickly tied the game multiple times before a decisive timeout by Marietta when the score was 10-9, Yellow Jackets. The Pios came out of the timeout strong, going on a 5-0 run to make it game point at 14-10.
But things fell apart from there as a ball handling error by junior setter Laura Mauer gave Baldwin Wallace the point and the serve. Two attack errors by Marietta and a kill tied the score at 14. The next few points were incredibly tense, as four ties and three lead changes came to haunt the Pios in their final game.
Janson led the team with 27 points, 27 kills and 10 digs, while sophomore middle blocker Shaunie Oliver-Smith contributed 15.5 points, 14 kills, 18 digs and three assisted blocks. Mauer also chipped in 53 assists.
The Pios currently sit in eighth place in the Ohio Athletic Conference and are set to face No. 1 seed Heidelberg on Tuesday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. The Pios lost to Heidelberg (16-14, 8-1 OAC) in five sets earlier in the year.