MARIETTA, Ohio – It was a bit of a struggle, but the Kenyon College volleyball team managed to glean a straight-set, non-conference victory Tuesday night against the host Marietta College Pioneers, who kept things close before falling by a 25-20, 25-22, 25-20 final.

The Ladies managed 38 kills in 123 attempts throughout the match, but they also committed 18 errors for a .163 hitting percentage. Those numbers, while pedestrian, looked sparkling compared to the 26 errors and .065 hitting percentage from the Pioneers.

Freshman Carly Uhlir came up with a team-high nine kills for the Ladies, while sophomores Haley Witschey and Mackenzie Bruzzio each added seven kills. Another sophomore, Maleah Miller smashed five kills and tacked on four block assists.

Senior libero Rachael Thorson posted a team-high 24 digs, while her classmate Jensen Shurbert served up 31 assists. Thorson now ranks sixth all-time at Kenyon with 1,317 career digs. Shurbert ranks fourth all-time with 2,556 career assists.

The Ladies (10-4) got behind early and trailed the Pioneers (8-10) by scores of 9-4 and 13-10 in the first set. A kill from Witschey gave the Ladies a 15-14 lead. She added two more kills over the course of the next seven points to push Kenyon ahead 19-17. Three straight errors from Marietta increased Kenyon's cushion to 22-17. Witschey and Bruzzio then finished off the frame with a couple more kills.

Kenyon raced out to a 17-9 lead in the second set, but struggled to put Marietta away. A combination of Kenyon errors and kills from Marietta's Darcy Irish, who ended up with a match-best 11 kills, pulled the Pioneers within two points at 19-17. Bruzzio then scored a kill for Kenyon and the Pioneers gift-wrapped the final five Ladies' points all via attack error.

Both teams played better in the third set. Neither team got ahead by more than four points and that margin didn't occur until Kenyon scored five straight to take a 21-17 lead. Uhlir had two kills in that run and Shurbert added one. Marietta responded with three straight points, but Kenyon again closed the set by capitalizing on a couple of Marietta errors, ones that surrounded kills from Schuyler Stupica and Shurbert.

Kenyon, winner in four of its last five matches, will now start prepping for a Thursday trip to Heidelberg University for a 7 p.m. non-conference contest.