Marietta volleyball splits opening pair of matches at Seahawk Invitational
Pioneers fall 3-1 to Virginia Wesleyan and defeat Gwynedd-Mercy 3-0

Oct. 24, 2008
ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. — The Marietta College volleyball team stepped out of its Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) scheduled on Friday to compete in day one of the Seahawk Invitational, hosted by St. Mary's (Md.) College. The Pioneers, who will play four matches at the event, opened with a 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 29-27, 25-21) loss to Virginia Wesleyan University but bounced back to defeat Gwynedd-Mercy (Pa.) College 3-0 (25-7, 25-15, 25-13) to move their record to 14-15 overall.

Marietta's freshman outside hitter Alex Weissling (Dublin/Dublin Scioto) led the offense with 18 kills against Virginia Wesleyan, which is coached by former Pioneer assistant Andrea Hoover. Sophomore outside hitter Kelly Schoener (Dublin/Dublin Scioto) and freshman right side hitter Meredith Storey (Olmsted Falls) both contributed nine kills in the match. Senior setter Caity Shirk (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) dished out 43 assists and junior defensive specialist Katy Williams (Richmond, Ind.) added three service aces in the four sets.

Defensively, junior libero Becca Holzworth (North Olmsted) led the way with 24 digs, while senior defensive specialist Brittany Papili (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) added 16 digs. Marietta's defense was also aided by four total blocks from freshman middle blocker Jessie Blackley (Aurora).

Freshman outside hitter Jaimie Hartline (North Canton/Glen Oak) led the Pioneers' offense with nine kills in the win over Gwynedd-Mercy. Sophomore right side hitter Tasha Williams (Little Hocking/Warren Local) also added six kills in the match, which saw freshman setter Lauren Litts (Chardon) hand out 22 assists.

Holzworth once again set the pace for the defense with a team-high 21 digs. Litts, Blackley and sophomore middle blocker Alex Edelbrock (Findlay/Van Buren Local) all finished with three total blocks in the victory.

Marietta will close out the tournament on Saturday (Oct. 25) with matches against #22 Salisbury University and Neumann College at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., respectively.