The Malone University volleyball team earned its first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) win of the season in a come-from-behind victory Tuesday night in front of a rowdy crowd at Walsh University.

Walsh rolled to an early advantage, hitting .310 and taking the first set 25-15. The Pioneers answered back, earning 25-19 and 25-23 second and third-set victories. The decisive fourth set saw Malone facing a 9-17 deficit that forced Head Coach Tanya Hockman to take a timeout. The Pioneers used the timeout to their advantage, winning the next four points to cut the eight-point deficit in half. Malone rallied to a 25-23 comeback win by playing strong defense down the stretch and winning 8 of the final 10 points to seal the four-set victory.

Elizabeth Maczuzak had a team-high 12 kills for the Pioneers while freshmen Mallory Adams and Veronica Gehring finished with 11 and 10, respectively. Setter Cathryn Miller assisted on 37 of Malone's 45 team kills. Jordan Cloyd led the Pioneers' defense with 13 digs. Lynsey Trusty and Maggie Hamrock added 10 digs apiece. The Malone trio of Maczuzak, Gehring, and Haley Kool each contributed 5 blocks on the defensive front. Over the final three sets, the Pioneers limited Walsh to a .102 attack percentage.

Kaitlin Bronikowski, who ranks second in the GLIAC in total digs, played well in defeat, tallying a game-high 29 digs.

The Pioneers improved to 5-10 on the season and 1-4 in the GLIAC. Walsh fell to 4-9 for the year and 0-5 in the conference.

Malone will be back in action this weekend when they travel to Wayne State (MI) University on Friday, October 2nd at 7:00 pm before facing Saginaw Valley State (MI) University at 2:00 pm Saturday, October 3rd.