The Malone University volleyball team earned its first-ever Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) match after fighting off a feisty Ohio Valley University squad in five sets Friday night on the road. The Pioneers claimed the first two sets 25-19 and 28-26 before dropping the next two sets 23-25 and 20-25. Malone, who came into the match 0-5 in five-set matches, rolled to a 15-4 win in the final set  on the strength of 10 kills to earn their fourth victory of the season and their first in five sets.
The Pioneers delivered an outstanding defensive performance, limiting the Fighting Scots to a .116 hitting percentage including a -.125 figure in the decisive set. Malone was particularly exceptional at the net, finishing the night with season-high 17 team blocks. It was the most blocks in a match since the Pioneers recorded 20 blocks in a five set loss to Pitt-Johnstown in 2014.
On the offensive side of the net, Malone recorded 56 kills to just 21 errors for a .196 attacking percentage.
Mallory Adams was remarkable on the evening, totaling a career-high 19 kills to go along with three service aces, five blocks (one solo, four assists) and nine digs. Her 25.0 points was the most by a Pioneer since 2011.
The Pioneers also received a tremendous defensive effort from Lynsey Trusty who once again set a career-high for the fifth time this season as she finished the match with 33 of Malone's 77 team digs.
Haley Kool was a force at the net, leading Malone with a season-high 10 blocks while Hannah Eliason contributed a season-high eight blocks.
Adding to the Pioneers attack were Faith Lau and Veronica Gehring who each finished with 10 kills apiece. Setter Tori Hall led Malone with 25 assists while Cathryn Miller chipped in with 18 helpers.
Defensive specialist Sydney Black collected 10 digs while Hall and Maggie Hamrock finished with nine digs each. With her efforts, Hamrock surpassed the 500 career-digs milestone.
NCAA Division II kills leader Alyx Henry led OVU with a game-high 21 kills. G-MAC digs leader Megan Morrison recorded a game-high 36 digs for the Scots.
With the win, Malone ended a nine-match losing skid and improved to 4-16 on the season and 1-3 in the conference. The Pioneers will return to the court on Saturday in a road contest at Cedarville at 1:00 pm. Preview notes for that match with links to live video and stats is available by clicking here.
