Volleyball to host Marietta for a White Out in OAC Tournament Quarterfinals

The Muskingum volleyball team will host the Marietta Pioneers on Tuesday, November 5, for the Quarterfinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament. The start time is slated for 7:00 p.m. The game will be a White Out, and all fans are encouraged to wear white to the game. The contest will feature live stats and live video at fightingmuskies.com.

The Last Time

The Muskies defeated the Pioneers on Tuesday, October 29, in the Ban Johnson Arena, 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-11).  

As a team, Muskingum tallied 42 kills, 40 assists, 54 digs, and 10 total blocks. Junior Maddie McGee guided the Muskies with a team-best 11 kills on 25 attempts, notching a .360 hitting percentage. Junior Brooke Fatheree chipped in nine kills on 17 attempts, registering a blistering .529 hitting percentage. Junior Erin Dickson notched a game-best 26 assists and recorded eight digs. Junior Jessica Cottle anchored the Muskie backline with a team-best 11 digs. 

As a team, Marietta registered 24 kills, 21 assists, 39 digs, and seven total blocks. The Pioneers were led by junior Sam Ritenour, who recorded six kills. Sophomore Alissa Ginther and junior Hailey Fuller chipped in five kills each. Junior April Davis anchored the Pioneer defense with a team-best 18 digs. Sophomore Brooke Trimble tallied a team-high three blocks. 

Matchup Breakdown

#2 Muskingum (Roster l Schedule l Statistics)

The 15th-ranked Muskies, the second-seed in the tournament, are currently 25-2 overall and finished the OAC regular season at 8-1 to earn a share of the OAC regular-season championship for the first time since 1999. As a team, Muskingum has recorded a total of 1,348 kills, 1,222 assists, 1,823 digs, 160 total blocks, and 146 service aces. 

Muskingum is led by Fatheree, who has registered a total of 307 kills on the year, ranking third in the league with 3.20 kills per set. This season, Fatheree secured her 1,000th career kill, 1,000th career dig, and moved to fifth all-time in career kills at Muskingum with a total of 1,058. Dickson has logged a team-best 831 assists in 90 sets played, ranking fourth in the OAC with 9.23 assists per set. Dickson is currently fourth all-time in career assists at Muskingum with a total of 2,800 assists.

Cottle anchors the Muskie backline with a team-high 480 digs in 95 sets played, ranking fourth in the conference with 5.05 digs per set. Cottle registered her 1,000th career dig against Hiram this year. McGee is second on the team with 264 kills, averaging 3.20 kills per set.  Junior Brynn Guist has notched 238 kills, while junior Jada Briggs has dished out a career-best 162 kills. Guist has logged a team-high 71 blocks on the year, ranking sixth in the league with 0.77 blocks per set.

Muskingum has appeared in a total of 30 OAC Tournaments. The Muskies have finished first five times and second six times.

#7 Marietta (Roster l Schedule l Statistics)

The Pioneers are currently 14-15 overall and ended the regular season at 3-6 in the OAC. As a team, Marietta has tallied a total of 1,198 kills, 1,124 assists, 1,728 digs, 154 total blocks, and 194 service aces. 

Ritenour directs the Pioneers with a team-high 337 kills, ranking sixth in the league with 3.13 kills per set. Ginther has secured 274 kills in 107 sets played, averaging 2.56 kills per set. Junior Maddie Nader has recorded a team-best 901 assists on the year, ranking fifth in the conference with 8.62 assists per set. Davis has logged 38 service aces on the year (0.37 service aces per set), while Elsea has dished out 38 service aces (0.36 service aces per set). Davis has also notched a team-high 463 digs, averaging 4.29 digs per set. She currently sports a blistering .956 reception percentage.

Marietta has appeared in a total of 21 OAC Tournaments. The Pioneers have finished second in the tournament twice.

OAC Tournament Schedule

The format is a single-elimination, with the champion receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. 

Tuesday, November 5 Quarterfinals-all matches 7:00 p.m.

#8 John Carroll (3-6) at #1 Ohio Northern (8-1)                                                   

#7 Marietta (3-6) at #2 Muskingum (8-1)                                                       

#6 Mount Union (5-4 at #3 Otterbein (7-2)                                                            

#5 Baldwin Wallace (5-4) at #4 Heidelberg (5-4)   

Thursday, November 7 Semifinals-Both Games 7:00 p.m.

TBD at TBD                                         

TBD at TBD                 

Saturday, November 9 Final-2:00 p.m.

Lower Remaining Seed at Higher Remaining Seed           

ADMISSION

Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Final
$8 for adults
$6 for seniors (62)
$3 for non-OAC students.

OAC students are admitted free of charge with a valid ID
OAC 2019-20 passes are not valid for the tournament
OAC Lifetime passes will be honored