Marietta volleyball suffers 3-2 loss to visiting Ursuline
Pioneers drop three straight sets after winning first two

Sept. 27, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College volleyball team jumped out to a 2-0 lead in Saturday (Sept. 27) afternoon’s non-conference match-up with visiting Ursuline College only to fall 3-2 (14-25, 16-25, 25-23, 27-25, 15-10) at Ban Johnson Arena. The loss dropped Marietta’s record to 12-8 overall, while Ursuline improved to 8-10 on the year.

Four Pioneer hitters finished with double-digit kills in the match. Freshman right side hitter Meredith Storey (Olmsted Falls) had a career-high 16 kills to lead the team. Freshman outside hitter Alex Weissling (Dublin/Dublin Scioto) added 14 kills, while senior middle blocker Sarah Vadaj (Streetsboro/Kent Roosevelt) and freshman middle blocker Jessie Blackley (Aurora) both added 11 kills.

Freshman setter Lauren Litts (Chardon) came off the bench and had a team-best 39 assists, while senior setter Caity Shirk (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) finished with 12 assists. Weissling also helped the offense with a career-high seven service aces.

Defensively, five Marietta players had double-digit digs. Junior libero Becca Holzworth (North Olmsted) finished with 33 digs, Weissling had 17 digs, Litts collected 15 digs, junior defensive specialist Katy Williams (Richmond, Ind.) contributed 14 digs and senior defensive specialist Brittany Papili (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) added 13 digs. The Pioneers also finished with eight total blocks with Blackley having four solo blocks and one block assist in the match.

Marietta is back in action on Saturday (Oct. 4) afternoon when the Pioneers continue Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play at Otterbein. The match will begin at 1 p.m.