Marietta volleyball finishes 2-2 at Defiance Invitational
Barnhart named to All-Tournament Team; Vadaj sets blocking records

Sept. 8, 2007
DEFIANCE, Ohio — The Marietta College volleyball squad's weekend at the Defiance College Invitational ended with a 3-2 (21-30, 30-22, 30-16, 26-30, 15-6) victory over the host Yellow Jackets on Saturday (Sept. 8) afternoon. The win helped the Pioneers finish 2-2 at the nine-team tournament and improve to 6-3 on the season.

Earlier in the day, Marietta fell to Shawnee State University 3-1 (27-30, 30-25, 23-30, 19-30). On Friday (Sept. 7) evening, the Pioneers opened pool play with a 3-1 (18-30, 30-17, 30-28, 30-28) victory over Concordia (Mich.) University. Marietta then fell to eventual champion Huntington (Ind.) University 3-1 (26-30, 30-24, 19-30, 22-30).

Senior middle blocker Marissa Barnhart (Avon) represented Marietta on the All-Tournament Team. It was the second straight tournament that she received the honor.

Against Concordia, junior outside hitter Melissa Browne (Lisbon/Beaver Local) paced the team with 11 kills, while senior right side hitter Paige Williams (Richmond, Ind.) and sophomore outside hitter Becca Holzworth (North Olmsted) both had 10 kills. Juniors setters Emily Wheatley (Wyoming), who also had four service aces, and Caity Shirk (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) finished with 26 and 20 assists, respectively. Holzworth led the squad with 15 digs, while senior defensive specialists Jessica Craig (Uniontown/Lake) added 13. Junior middle blocker Sarah Vadaj (Streetsboro/Kent Roosevelt) collected a team-high five block assists and added one solo block.

In the match against Huntington, Barnhart and Holzworth led in kills with nine. Wheatley and Shirk dished out 16 assists each. Wheatley also led in aces with three. Senior libero Casey Davis (Amanda/Amanda Clearcreek) had a team-high 20 digs. Vadaj picked up three block assists.

Browne paced the team with 13 kills in the loss to Shawnee State. Wheatley had 21 assists, while Shirk had 16. Holzworth finished with four service aces. In addition, Davis collected 18 digs, and Barnhart added two solo blocks and four block assists.

In the win over Defiance, Barnhart and Williams both had 11 kills; Shirk and Browne added 10. Shirk also finished with 39 assists, while Barnhart had four service aces. Davis paced the defense with 20 digs. Highlighting the match, however, was Vadaj, who broke the school record for total blocks in a five-game match with 10. Her seven block assists also tied the record, which was set by Barnhart on the opening night of the season.

Marietta is back in action Tuesday (Sept. 11) evening when it travels to Waynesburg, Pa., for a 7 p.m. match-up with the Yellow Jackets.