Pioneer volleyball’s season ends with a 3-0 loss to No. 25 Capital in the quarterfinals of the OAC Tournament
Doolittle ties school record for block assists in a season with 88

Oct. 31, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The sixth-seeded Marietta College volleyball team’s season came to a close Tuesday (Oct. 31) evening following a 3-0 (30-24, 30-25, 30-15) loss to third-seeded and 25th-ranked Capital University in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament.

The loss ends one of the most successful seasons in the Pioneers’ 31-year history. Under third-year Head Coach Tom Symons, Marietta, who finished with an overall record of 20-8, reached the 20-win plateau for just the ninth time, and the 2006 squad set a new standard for regular season winning percentage (.741).

Entering Tuesday’s match, the Pioneers knew that they would have a tough task ahead of them, as the Crusaders (25-8) won the regular season meeting last week in three games. Marietta played hard but once again fell in straight games.

Four seniors—Paige Burton (Fairlawn/Archbishop Hoban), Ellen Doolittle (Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual), Jaymi Stephens (Hilliard/Hilliard Davidson) and Mattie Unger (Peninsula/Woodridge)—closed out their Pioneer careers Tuesday.

Stephens led the offensive attack against Capital with 14 kills and no errors in 21 attempts. Doolittle had five kills, one service ace and two total blocks. Doolittle, the Pioneers’ all-time leader in blocks, tied the single-season school record for blocks assists with 88. Burton added a team-high two service aces and 10 digs.

Sophomore setter Caity Shirk (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) finished with 26 assists in the match and moved into fifth place on the single-season assists list with 996. Junior libero Casey Davis (Amanda/Clearcreek) paced the defense with 17 digs, while freshman defensive specialist Becca Holzworth (North Olmsted) added 12 digs.