Marietta volleyball's 11-match win streak ends with 3-0 loss to No. 21 Ohio Northern
Pioneers fall to 13-2 on the year

Sept. 22, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College volleyball team opened Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action Friday (Sept. 22) night at Ban Johnson Arena against 2005 regular season champion Ohio Northern. The No. 21 Polar Bears were challenged in each of the three games by the Pioneers, but in the end, ONU came through with a 3-0 victory (30-16, 20-25, 30-26).

With the win, Ohio Northern improved to 10-6 overall and 1-0 in the OAC. Marietta fell to 13-2 on the year and 0-1 in Conference play. The loss snapped a 11-match win streak for the Pioneers, the longest in school history.

The Polar Bears were the first real test of the young season for the Pioneers and gave them an idea of what it takes to be at the top of the League.

Marietta's offense finished with 37 kills and three service aces in the loss. Senior Ellen Doolittle (Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual) paced the squad with 12 kills, while senior Jaymi Stephens (Hilliard/Hilliard Davidson) added 10 kills.

Sophomore setter Caity Shirk (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) finished with 34 assists in the match, which was played in front of a highly-energetic crowd.

The Pioneers' defense was led by Stephens with 11 digs, while senior Paige Burton (Fairlawn/Archbishop Hoban) and junior Casey Davis (Amanda/Clearcreek) each collected nine digs.

Marietta totaled eight blocks in the match and were led by junior Marissa Barnhart (Avon) with two solo and two assisted blocks.

The Pioneers, who are off to their best start in school history, will look to bounce back from just their second loss of the year when they play host to rival Muskingum on Tuesday (Sept. 26) at 7 p.m. It will be a Blue Alert game for the Pioneers and a junior varsity match is slated to begin at 5 p.m.