The Malone University volleyball team dropped a pair of matches Saturday afternoon at the University of Charleston (WV). The Pioneers lost in four sets to West Virginia Wesleyan in the opener 25-19, 16-25, 22-25, 23-25, before being swept by Charleston in the three sets 21-25, 17-25,18-25. With the losses, Malone falls to 3-15 on the season and remains winless in their last eight matches.

Against WV Wesleyan, Malone raced out to a 10-1 lead in the first set but allowed the Bobcats to cut the lead to 20-19. The Pioneers held on to win the final five points to capture the first set. Over the final three sets, though, the Pioneers struggled to generate a consistent attack, hitting just .048 as WV Wesleyan came back to earn the four-set victory.
 
Mallory Adams led Malone offensively with a team-high 15 kills. Haley Kool and Veronica Gehring totaled eight kills each. Tori Hall assisted on 19 kills while Cathryn Miller contributed 12 assists and went over the 1500-assists mark for her career. Faith Lau added three service aces. Sydney Black and Lynsey Trusty chipped in with two aces apiece.

Trusty led the Pioneer defense with 27 digs a night after setting a career-high with 29 digs against Hillsdale. Black collected 10 digs while Adams finished with five total blocks.

The offensive struggles continued against Charleston as Malone finished the match with a .076 attacking percentage compared to a .240 figure for the hosts.

Adams again led the attack with 12 kills. Gehring finished with five kills. Tori Hall led the setter rotation with 14 assists. Black and Lau each tallied two service aces.

Defensively, Malone was paced by Trusty's 13 digs. Hall collected 11 digs to complete her first collegiate double-double. Haley Kool added three blocks in the loss.

The Pioneers will look to get back in the win column when they resume conference play this Tuesday, October 4th against Ursuline.