Three players finished with double-digit kills and the Wilmington College volleyball team held late leads in all five sets, but the Fightin' Quakers couldn't make enough plays and they fell to Marietta 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 27-25, 31-33, 15-12) in Ohio Athletic Conference action at Hermann Court Friday.
Sophomore Catlin Pauley (Kenton, OH/Riverdale) finished with 19 kills on 62 attempts and just four errors for a .242 hitting percentage. Junior Tabby Biegler (Columbus, OH/Briggs) contributed a team-high 21 kills with 11 errors on 73 attempts. Biegler added a team-high 33 digs as six different players finished with double-figure digs.
Senior Ashley Miller (Arcanum, OH/Franklin Monroe) rounded out the double-figure trio with 13 kills on 29 attempts and four errors. She added four solo blocks and two assisted blocks
Junior Ariana Neff (Naples, FL/Gulf Coast) distributed a season-high 51 assists with 13 digs. Junior Emily Oberschlake (West College Corner, IN/Union County) added 29 digs, while sophomore Noel Cain (Dayton, OH/Archbishop Carroll) and freshman Kayleigh Trevino (Vandalia, OH/Butler) both had 12 digs each. Freshman Mallory Toops (South Charleston, OH/Southeastern) tallied 10 digs.
Wilmington fell behind early in the first set, but scored 11 of the next 15 points – mostly behind the serves of Oberschlake and Neff. As Marietta closed to within one, 20-19, a kill by Pauley and service ace by Neff steadied the ship and helped WC pulled off the win.
Once again the Pioneers took an early lead, scoring five of the first six points in the second set. However, Wilmington rallied to claim the 18-16 advantage. Marietta rounded out the set by scoring nine of the last 10 points to even the match.
The third set was close throughout, and the Pioneers threatened to pull away midway through the set. Marietta had a four-point lead, 15-11, and the lead continued to be around four and at 23-19, Wilmington made a push. The set was tied at 23, 24, and 25, but Marietta scored the final two points to take the lead.
The Fightin' Quakers staved off four straight match points in the fourth set and forced a final 15-point set with a 33-31 victory. Biegler and Pauley each had two kills down the stretch enabling WC to stay alive.
Unlike the first four set, Wilmington took the early lead in the winner take all set. WC had a two-point advantage for most of the fifth set, and led 12-11 with the serve. Unfortunately, a couple miscues allowed the Pioneers to score the last four points of the match to preserve the victory.
Wilmington (2-17 overall, 0-2 OAC) returns to the court 7 p.m. Tuesday at Ohio Northern.