Fort Wayne, Ind. —- The Marian University volleyball team picked up two more wins on Friday to kickoff the Onset Invitational in Fort Wayne on Friday, highlighted by a nationally ranked win over 11th-ranked Missouri Baptist in the opener.
MATCH ONE | Marian 3, #11 Missouri Baptist 1
TEAM STATISTICS
- Missouri Baptist held a slim 47-46 edge in kills
- Both teams tallied 10 aces
- The Spartans held a 14-6 lead in blocks
- MBU hit .158 to Marian's .104
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Khori Dryden led the team with 11 digs and a season-high 22 digs
- Chloe Cook added nine kills and three blocks; Danielle Schade and Ava Tindall also had nine kills
- Mya Cunningham dished out 20 assists and five aces
- Lexa Zimmerman tallied 16 digs
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST SET
- The Spartans went on a six-point run to force an early Marian timeout
- The run extended to 10 straight as MBU led 10-2
- Another Missouri Baptist run forced the Knights to burn their second timeout trailing 16-7
- MU rattled off four straight points to get within 19-11, but the Spartans righted the ship to take the first set
SECOND SET
- The Spartans opened the second set with the first three points
- Sami Luttel's ace tied the set at 4
- Marian called a timeout after three straight MBU points had the Spartans leading 14-10
- The Knights responded with five straight capped by kills from Evie Dart, Ava Tindall and Dryden to take the lead and force a Spartan timeout
- MBU regained the lead with four straight points to edge ahead, 19-18
- MU punched back with three straight of their own; Dart's kill put the Knights up 21-19 to force a timeout
- MBU forced a crucial set point to force a Marian timeout, but two attack errors and Cunningham's ace swung the second set in Marian's favor to knot up the match
THIRD SET
- Two Danielle Schade kills kickstarted a five-point run for Marian to lead 7-2 early in the third
- The Spartans tied the set at 9 with a run of four straight
- MU responded with four straight of their own to force an MBU timeout, leading 13-9
- The Spartans pulled within 21-20 on Katie Hunt's ace to force a Marian timeout
- After MBU tied the set at 22, a service error and kills from Dryden and Dart won the pivotal set for the Knights
FOURTH SET
- A Cunningham service run spanned 10 straight points with two aces, burning both of MBU's timeouts as the Knights led 17-8
- MBU pulled within 19-18 and later tied the set at 22 in a rollercoaster fourth frame
- After an MU timeout, the Knights closed out the match with three straight, capped by Schade's kill to pick up the nationally ranked win
MATCH TWO | Marian 3, WVU Tech 0
TEAM STATISTICS
- Marian recorded 37 kills to 18 for WVU Tech
- The Knights added 11 more aces to just four for the Golden Bears
- MU picked up 36 assists WVU Tech's 15
- The Knights hit .220 while holding the Golden Bears to just .011
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Kaydence Lowman led the team with a career-high nine kills on just 15 swings
- Chloe Cook added eight kills
- Cunningham and Luttel both dished out 16 assists
- Emerson Evans landed four aces and led the team with 14 digs
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST SET
- Autumn Wohler capped a run of fourth straight MU points with a kill to force a WVU Tech timeout
- Back-to-back Dryden kills pushed Marian's lead to 17-8
- An Annika Koepke kill and Wohler's ace highlighted a four-point run to finish off the opening set for the Knights
SECOND SET
- Evans dropped three straight aces in a five-point run for MU to force the Golden Bears to take a timeout
- WVU Tech put a run of four straight points to get within 15-12
- A Wohler ace and Cook's kill distanced the Knights' lead
- Cook finished off the set for Marian with a kill
THIRD SET
- Marian started off the third set with five straight; Koepke's kill forced an early WVU Tech timeout
- The lead stretched to 9-1 when Luttel served up an Adriana Williams kill
- Another Wohler ace doubled up the Marian lead, 20-10
- Williams and Lowman combined for a stretch of three straight kills by freshmen in the end of the set before Cook capped it off with another set-ending kill, this one for the match
UP NEXT
- The Knights return to action on Saturday, taking on Defiance and Fisk with first serves of 10:45 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively
