The Malone University volleyball team will play three matches in three days this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, when it travels south to West Virginia to meet Great Midwest Athletic Conference East Division opponents Davis & Elkins College, Alderson Broaddus University, and Ohio Valley University.  The Pioneers, who stand at 2-1 in the G-MAC and 7-4 overall, will have the chance to further solidify their spot amongst the conference leaders with a strong showing this weekend.

Matches
(9/21) Malone at Davis & Elkins – 7:00 pm
(9/22) Malone at Alderson Broaddus – 7:00 pm
(9/23) Malone at Ohio Valley – 1:00pm

Video for all matches can be found at: portal.stretchinternet.com/malone
All matches will be streamed live via the Great Midwest Digital Network
 
Malone Notes 

• The Pioneers are coming off a 2-0 weekend in which they posted back-to-back, come-from-behind, five-set victories over Trevecca Nazarene and Kentucky Wesleyan.
• The Malone defense held Trevecca Nazarene to a .027 attacking percentage, the lowest by a Malone opponent in the last 102 matches dating back to 2013.
• The Pioneers then posted a season-high 14 blocks in the win at Kentucky Wesleyan.
• Malone enters this week's stretch of games ranked 2nd in the G-MAC in blocks per set (2.08) and 3rd in digs (16.09/s).
• Pioneer hitter Mallory Adams is 3rd in the G-MAC in blocks (1.07/s). She also leads the team in kills (2.58/s) and is 3rd in digs (2.30/s). She is the only player in the nation averaging at least 2.5 kills, 2.25 digs, and 1.00 blocks. Against Alderson Broaddus last season, Adams recorded her first collegiate triple-double with 21 kills, 18 digs, and 10 blocks.
• Libero Maggie Hamrock leads the Malone defense with 3.74 digs per set.
• Setter Cathryn Miller is second on the team in digs (2.60/s) and surpassed 500 career digs in the match against Kentuck y Wesleyan. She also leads Malone with 265 assists (6.62/s).
• Sophomore defensive specialist Sydney Black collected a career-high 22 digs at Kentucky Wesleyan and is five shy of 300 for her career.
• The Malone defense is aided by freshman middle hitter Brooklyn Sullivan's 0.90 blocks per set.
• The Malone offensive attack is aided by Veronica Gehring, who leads Malone in hitting (.200) and is second in kills (2.52). Gehring matched a career-high with 17 kills in four sets against Alderson Broaddus last season.
• Faith Lau, who averages 2.28 kills a set, recorded two double-doubles against Thursday's opponent, Davis & Elkins, in 2016. Lau averaged 15 kills, and 13.5 digs over the two four-set matches.
• Rachel Santos (1.98 k/s) has scored 10 or more points in six of her last eight matches while sophomore Hannah Eliason scored 25 points (21 kills, eight block assists) in last weekend's matches.
• Over her last four matches, freshman setter Abbie Swaino has totaled 68 assists and eight service aces. She is 4th in the G-MAC in aces per set (0.42).
• This weekend marks the first time that Malone has played matches in three straight days since December of 2010 when it competed in the NAIA National Tournament.

Davis & Elkins Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Senators enter Thursday's match 4-6 on the season, but are 2-1 in the G-MAC, including consecutive wins over Ursuline and Ohio Valley.  
• Senior middle hitter Sasha Johnson posted a team-high 20 kills across the two matches. Johnson, a 2016 G-MAC First Team selection, leads the team in kills (2.00/s), hitting (.282), and blocks (0.91/s).
• As a team, D&E is 5th in the conference in blocks (1.76/s).
• The Senators reached the G-MAC Championship match last season, but were eliminated by Cedarville.

Alderson Broaddus Notes -  Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Battlers carry a 5-6 overall record and an 0-2 mark in G-MAC play.
• Last Saturday, the Battlers lost in five sets to Ursuline and then in four sets to Mount Vernon Nazarene. Outside hitter Ashlyn McDonald posted a team-high 31 kills on the day.
• On the season, right side hitter Madison Johnson leads the team with 2.93 kills per set and a .256 hitting percentage.
• AB ranks third in the G-MAC in aces (1.80/s) and has allowed the 3rd fewest kills (11.16/s)

Ohio Valley Notes -  Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Fighting Scots enter the weekend 5-6 on the year and 1-2 in the G-MAC, their lone win came in five sets over Ursuline.
• In their most recent match, the Scots lost in four sets to Davis & Elkins on Tuesday. Outside hitter Jessica Rafay posted a team-high 14 kills in the match.
• Fa'aaliga Mikaela leads the squad on the season, averaging 2.96 kills a set. She also ranks second in the G-MAC in aces.
• As a team, Ohio Valley leads the conference with 2.02 aces per set and is 5th in hitting percentage (.169).