MARIETTA, Ohio -- On Wednesday night, the Capital University volleyball team took Marietta College the full distance, and some, but couldn't pull off what would have been their first conference win of the season at the end of the match. The host Pioneers emerged victorious in the fifth set 3-2.
Capital (3-11, 0-5 OAC) took sets two and three, and forced a dramatic fifth set, but in the end could not find the important winning point. Marietta emerged with the win via a dramatic set score line of 25-19, 29-31, 20-25, 25-18, 17-15.
The Comets stuffed the scoresheet in the match as they played an all-around decent match of volleyball. In the offensive category,
Delanie Nahikian led a trio of Capital double-digit kill leaders. Nahikian tallied 16 kills, while
Caleigh Hamby added 13 and
Sydney LaPointe chipped in with 10 kills.
Jordyn Hoffman facilitated the offense with 40 assists.
The Capital back row played remarkably as four Comets reached double-digit digs. Nahikian led all players with 23 digs, while
Erin O'Connell contributed 21. Hoffman had a new career-best 17 digs, and
Miranda Jordan contributed an important 11 digs as well. At the net, Hamby and
Larissa Smith each had a solo block.
Capital picked up an outstanding 15 service aces in the match, including eight from
Miranda Jordan -- a career-high for her. Hoffman and Nahikian each added two aces, while O'Connell,
Paree Furness and Smith all had one ace.
On the other side of the net, the Pioneers (4-14, 1-3) had two players lead the way offensively. Maggie Fellers had 19 kills, while Mia Silva added 17 offensive points. Jenna Szabelski dished out 48 assists and also led the team in digs with 19. Fellers added four service aces for Marietta as well.
The Capital performance was a much needed boost heading into their tri-match this Saturday with Mount Union and Denison. The team was on a drop in form as they had lost their previous three matches in straight sets. The fight and ability to grind out their set wins and force the issue in the decisive set will surely lift the team's confidence heading into the busy weekend schedule.
Capital will play their OAC match against the Purple Raiders at 11 a.m. before hosting the Big Red at 3 p.m. Mount and Denison will square off in the Capital Center at 1 p.m.
