MARIETTA — The Otterbein volleyball team fell 3-1 in a tight battle at No. 12 Marietta in Ohio Athletic Conference play on Wednesday night. The Pioneers won 25-22, 25-16, 24-26, 25-21.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (12-6 overall, 2-1 OAC), Marietta (13-0 overall, 2-0 OAC)
• Venue: Ban Johnson Arena - Marietta, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Senior Kennedy Hoffman paced Otterbein in kills with 15 followed by freshman Emerson Baum and junior Olivia Vitaz with eight each.
• Senior Amanda Troyer finished with a team-high 30 digs to go with 16 from sophomore Ashley Kefauver.
• Vitaz tallied a team-best 22 assists to go with 19 from freshman Kaitlyn Schram.

Match Highlights

• Otterbein got off to a strong start, taking a 15-11 lead midway through the first set. Marietta came back to take an 18-17 edge, but a kill from Baum and a Pioneer attack error put the Cardinals up 19-18. Back-to-back kills from junior Maddie Mergen and Hoffman gave Otterbein a 21-20 edge before Marietta responded with three straight points for a 23-21 lead. Following an Otterbein timeout, a kill from Mergen cut the deficit to one, but back-to-back Pioneer kills gave the home team the victory.
• Marietta raced out to a 12-5 lead in the second set. Leading 12-8, the Pioneers scored five of the next six points for a 17-9 edge en route to the 25-16 victory.
• The teams battled to a 20-20 tie in a tightly contested third set. Marietta took a two-point lead at 23-21, but back-to-back kills from senior Kristen Scherger and Hoffman re-tied the score. That was followed by a kill from Vitaz, giving Otterbein the lead and forcing the Pioneers to call a timeout. With the score tied at 24, Otterbein went on to claim the set thanks to back-to-back kills from Hoffman.
• Otterbein carried that positive momentum into the fourth set, using a 4-0 run on an ace from sophomore Makenzie Schellenberger and kills from Kefauver, Schram and Baum to take a 10-4 lead. Marietta battled back to tie the score at 13, and the teams battled to a 19-all deadlock. The Pioneers proceeded to score three straight points, leading to an Otterbein timeout trailing 22-19. Two more Pioneer points put the home team up 24-19 before the Cardinals answered with two points on consecutive kills from Scherger, but Marietta clinched the match with a kill.
• Otterbein finished with 52 kills while hitting .121, and Marietta finished with 49 kills while hitting .276.

Notables

• Wednesday marked Marietta's first win over Otterbein since 2009. The Cardinals had won 17 straight matches against the Pioneers.
• Marietta is ranked No. 12 nationally in this week's AVCA/TARAFLEX NCAA Division III Poll. Otterbein is in the "Others receiving votes" section with 18 points.
• Head coach Monica Wright is in her 18th year at Otterbein and boasts an all-time record of 366-183 at the helm of the Cardinals. 
• Troyer ranks fourth all-time at Otterbein in career service aces (145) and is fifth all-time in career digs (1,470).
• Vitaz has 1,363 career assists.
• Hoffman has 892 career kills.