Written by: CJ Wilt (cjw012@marietta.edu)
After winning 11 of 12 straight, the Marietta College volleyball team fell to Heidelberg last Friday. The Pioneers now sit at 12-5 overall this season and 3-1 in the OAC.
Heidelberg took the match 3-1 after a quick response by Marietta to win the second set to tie 1-1. The Student Princes made quick work of the third and fourth sets, winning them 25-14 and 25-17.
Despite the loss, Marietta received big performances by Sarah Podkul and Karly Launder, combining for 60 digs along with McKenzie Heil and AnnaBelle Hacker, each with 11 kills. Launder’s 28 digs were a career high for the outside hitter. Heil’s 11 kills were a career high, and Hacker totaled her ninth game of the season with double-digit kills.
The Pioneers will welcome the Otterbein Cardinals to the Ban Johnson Arena for their next home contest Wednesday, October 28th. The Cardinals are undefeated in OAC play and hold a 19-3 overall record.
With both programs consistently competing for conference championships, the upcoming matchup could have major implications for the OAC regular-season standings. A Marietta victory would give the Cardinals their first conference loss and strengthen the Pioneers’ chances of claiming another regular-season title.
While Marietta College looks for its third straight OAC regular-season championship, they had been bested by Otterbein in the OAC postseason tournament in both of those seasons. The two programs have been responsible for every OAC volleyball title over the last 4 seasons.
With Marietta, Baldwin Wallace, and Heidelberg all with one loss in the conference, the OAC is still very much up for grabs. Only 2 teams have gone on to become undefeated regular-season champions (2023 Otterbein & 2024 Marietta), so the Cardinals have a tough hill to climb.
Marietta will take on Capital and Muskingum this week in hopes of staying around the top of the OAC and taking down the undefeated Cardinals at home. Next Wednesday, first serve is at 7 p.m.
Edited by: Rebecca Straits (rjs006@marietta.edu)
