Marietta College volleyball splits final two matches of River City Tournament
Pioneers fall to Grove City 3-2 but defeat Oberlin 3-0 to finish weekend 3-1

Aug. 30, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College volleyball team closed out competition at the 2008 River City Tournament by splitting a pair of matches Saturday (Aug. 30) at Ban Johnson Arena. The Pioneers began the morning with a tough, five-game (23-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-18, 13-15) loss to Grove City (Pa.) College. Marietta bounced back with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-20) victory over Oberlin for the second day in a row to finish the tournament 3-1.

Senior setter Caity Shirk (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) dished out a game-high 56 assists in the loss to Grove City. Freshman outside hitter Alex Weissling (Dublin/Dublin Scioto) paced the team with 23 kills, while freshman outside hitter Jaimie Hartline (North Canton/Glen Oak) added 17 kills in the loss. Senior defensive specialist Brittany Papili (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) contributed six of the team’s 12 service aces versus the Wolverines.

Defensively, Marietta had four players finish with double-digit digs. Junior libero Becca Holzworth (North Olmsted) collected 31 digs. Papili added 18 digs and Shirk and Weissling both had 11 in the loss.

The Pioneers were able to spread the offense around in the win over Oberlin; sophomore outside hitter Ashley Bennett (Lancaster/Amanda Clearcreek) led the team with six kills. Freshman setter Lauren Litts (Chardon) handed out a career-high 17 assists in the win. Holzworth, who led the Pioneers with 14 digs, and senior middle blocker Sarah Vadaj (Streetsboro/Kent Roosevelt) both had three service aces.

Marietta is back in action on Friday (Sept. 5) evening when it participates in the Washington & Lee Tournament in Lexington, Va. The Pioneers will take on Dickinson (Pa.) at 6 p.m. and then Southern Virginia at 8 p.m. Marietta will then battle Mary Baldwin (Va.) and Washington & Lee on Saturday (Sept. 6) at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively.

Saturday’s results:
Grove City (Pa.) def. Marietta, 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 18-25, 15-13) [Box Score]
Thiel (Pa.) def. Wooster, 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 15-12)
Marietta def. Oberlin, 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-20) [Box Score]
Bluffton def. Wooster, 3-1 (16-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-15)
Thiel (Pa.) def. Grove City (Pa.), 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-12, 25-20)
Bluffton def. Oberlin, 3-1 (25-14, 21-25, 25-20, 25-19)

All-Tournament Team
Natalie Liberati (Grove City) (MVP)
Alex Weissling (Marietta)
Becca Holzworth (Marietta)
Megan Earle (Wooster)
Ali Drushal (Wooster)
Abbey Kiger (Thiel)
Maggie Jacobson (Oberlin)