FORT WAYNE, Ind. – No. 21 Marian put up a fight against No. 7 Viterbo, but fell 3-0 in their first game of day two sy the Onset Invitational at at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. In a chance at redemption, the Knights were unsuccessful as they dropped a five-set game 3-2 to (RV) Indiana Tech. The losses drop Marian to 2-2 to begin the 2023 campaign. 

Game 1 | Marian 0-3 Viterbo | 20-25, 12-25, 19-25

The first set proved to be a back-and-forth battle, seeing 14 ties throughout the set. Viterbo managed to grab a one-point advantage behind a 4-0 run, before Nicole Wilkinson got Marian back in it with her kill to deadlock the score at 12-12. The Knights enjoyed the 19-17 advantage after a Madison Brooks kill and attack error by the V-Hawks. Viterbo had a quick answer with six straight points, sparking an 8-1 run to take the first set 25-20.

Viterbo had the upper hand over Marian throughout the entire second set, as they took a wire-to-wire victory in the opening game. A pair of errors and a kill by Wilkinson allowed the Knights to get within two, but the Red Hawks took control of the set with a 10-2 run to grab the 20-10 lead. Marian continued their fight with a Sarah Bennett kill. However, Marian was unable to keep any momentum as Viterbo won set two 25-12.

In the third set, Marian found themselves playing from behind, as they fell into a 17-8 deficit. The Knights were able to rally back from their hole thanks to kills from Gabby Fish and Wilkinson. Viterbo responded with three straight points to gain the 21-12 lead. Kills from Mikayla Christiansen and Emma Hirchak, and a block by Brooks and Bennett aided the rally, as Marian found themselves only trailing 22-19. The V-Hawks did not falter as they held on to win 25-19.

Brooks and Christiansen led the charge with eight kills, while Fish and Wilkinson each added six. Logan smith piled on 15 assists to lead the team, and Gianna Feld had a dominant game in the backrow recording 18 digs. Christiansen and Bennett each had two block assists, with Brooks and Wilkinson picking up one.

Game 2 | Marian 3-1 Indiana Tech | 25-15, 21-25, 23-25, 25-21, 14-16

Looking to close their weekend strong, Marian jumped out to an 8-5 lead behind the forces of Fish and Christiansen. The Knights continued to put the pressure on with kills coming from Bennett and Khori Dryden, helping their team control the 15-7 lead. After a few errors by Marian, Indiana Tech picked up three points but once again it was the Knights pulling ahead 22-12. The trio of Fish, Bennett, and Brooks led the charge the to help Marian pull away set one 25-15.

The Knights stumbled in the second set as errors plagued the team, playing from behind nearly the entire set. Ainsley Neighbors found Wilkinson on the attack to put Marian within two at 12-10. Back-to-back service aces capped off a 3-0 run before a kill by Dryden gave the Knights some juice. The two teams went back and forth the remainder of the set, but it was the Warriors holding on to take set two 25-21.

Marian returned to form to start set three, with Dryden leading the charge with three kills in the 6-0 run. However, a pesky Warriors team never backed down as they climbed out of their deficit to tie things at 15-15, and forcing a Marian timeout. After the timeout, Indiana flipped the script as they took ahold of the 18-17 lead. Brooks and Dryden answered with a pair of kills to take back the lead, but three consecutive errors allowed the Warriors to regain control. It was a battle the rest of the set with both squads going point for point. Unfortunately, the Knights were on the trailing end and dropped the set 25-23.

Indiana Tech picked up where they left off, as they took the early 7-1 lead to begin set four. Marian returned the favor later in the set by going on an 8-1 spurt, with big kills coming from Wilkinson and Hirchak to pull ahead 17-14. The Warriors were able to answer, but the Knights never looked back as they rolled through the rest of the set to win 25-21.

After forcing a fifth set, Marian came out hot with the 6-0 start. Indiana Tech ended the run with a kill before Brooks aided a 10-6 lead with a kill on the dish from Neighbors. The Warriors had an answer with five straight to grab the 12-10 advantage. A service error and kills coming from Smith and Fish evened the score at 14-14. Back-to-back errors hurt the Knights as Indiana Tech went on to win 16-14 and win the game 3-2.

Three Knights reached double digit kills with Wilkinson leading the way with 16 kills. Dryden added 15 and Fish put 10 away. Smith and Neighbors posted 28 and 25 assists, respectively, while Feld had a game-high 19 digs.

Marian will return to action on August 23 as they hit the road to take on IU-East at 7 p.m. 

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