OAC Tournament Semifinals - No. 1 Muskingum vs. No. 4 Marietta

The #15 Muskingum volleyball team continues in the 2021 spring Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament hosting rival Marietta in the semifinals. Game time is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Anne C. Steele Center on Thursday.

The Teams: The Muskies finished the regular season with an overall 16-2 record to net them the OAC Regular Season Championship and the top seed in the conference tournament. The Pioneers finished the season 6-10 and earned the fourth seed.

The Coaches: Muskingum is led by fifth-year head coach Hallie Cruzen. This season, she led Muskingum to their first outright OAC Regular Season Championship since 1999, as well as back-to-back OAC Championships. Cruzen also earned her 100th career win as the Muskie head coach. In 2019, she guided the Muskies to their 10th NCAA Tournament appearance and the team's first NCAA Tournament triumph since 1999 after beating Wittenberg to advance to the Regional Semifinals. She was recently named OAC Coach of the Year for the second time in her career (2018). Kristy Newman is in her third year as head coach for the Marietta volleyball program.

The Players: The Muskies are led by senior Maddie McGee with 239 kills averaging 3.92 kills per set, while senior Brooke Fatheree leads the Muskies defensively with 313 digs averaging 4.89 digs per set. Senior Erin Dickson has guided the Muskie offense with 410 assists averaging 6.61 assists per set. Fatheree earned OAC Volleyball Player of the Year and First Team All-OAC honors, while McGee collected First Team All-OAC and Dickson earned Second Team All-OAC accolades. Sophomore middle hitter Emma Dunham also notched Second-Team All-OAC honors for Muskingum.

Maggie Newman leads Marietta with 205 kills averaging 3.06 kills per set and Maddie Nader leads the Pioneer offense with 675 assists averaging 10.07 assists per set. Sam Ritenour is second on the team in kills with 199 kills averaging 2.97 kills per set. Newman was named First Team All-OAC, while Nader and Ritenour were named Honorable Mention All-OAC.

Series History: Muskingum is 45-13 all-time against Marietta. The Muskie won both regular-season meetings in New Concord 3-1 and 3-0.

OAC Tournament History: The Muskies will be making their 31st appearance in the OAC Tournament. Muskingum has won the conference tournament a total of five times and has finished runner-ups six times. Marietta is making its 24th appearance in the OAC Tournament.

Broadcasts: Live statistics and live video of the game will be available - visit links here -> Live Stats | Video

Up Next: The winner of the contest will play either Otterbein or Baldwin Wallace on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. for the OAC Tournament Championship.