The Malone University volleyball team will face a tough acid test on the road this Saturday, November 5th when it squares off against the defending National Champions Wheeling Jesuit University (WV) as part of a non-conference tri-match. The Pioneers will take on Notre Dame College (OH) at 3:00 pm before facing Jesuit at 5:00. WJU comes into the weekend ranked #5 in NCAA Division II. 
 
Matches & Media
(11/5) Malone vs. Notre Dame (OH) – 3:00 pm
(11/5) Malone at NCAA DII #5 Wheeling Jesuit – 5:00 pm
Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/wju/wvball/

Team Notes
Malone (6-21): Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Pioneers are coming off their first back-to-back wins of the season after upsetting Ursuline in four sets on Wednesday
• Outside hitters Mallory Adams, Veronica Gehring, and Faith Lau combined for 29 kills in the match. Adams leads the trio with 2.87 kills per set this season.
• Middle hitter Haley Kool and right side hitter Hannah Meckstroth each recorded six blocks in the win. Kool leads the team with 0.82 blocks per set. Meckstroth has played well since being inserted into the rotation, totaling 26 kills and 12 blocks in the last five matches
• Setter Tori Hall recorded her 4th double-double with 15 assists and 10 digs against Ursuline. She and Cathryn Miller have helped the Pioneers average 12.6 kills per set over the last four matches.
• Libero Lynsey Trusty continues to shine in the backrow, upping her digs per set average to 4.75 on the season with a 26-dig effort on Wednesday night
• Defensive specialist Maggie Hamrock posted her sixth double-digit dig total of the season with 10 against Ursuline. Fellow bump squadder Sydney Black tallied three services and now leads the team with 29 on the year.
• Malone is just 3-16 in non-conference matches this season, but defeated Notre Dame in four sets in the season opener when Mallory Adams posted a team-high 18 kills.
• The Pioneers will be playing Wheeling Jesuit for the second time in two seasons. Malone managed just 23 kills and hit-.027 in a 15-25, 7-25, 14-25 loss last fall.

Notre Dame (15-13) Roster | Schedule | Stats.

• The Falcons enter the weekend winning three of their last four. They rank 9th in the nation in team service aces (183)
• The Notre Dame attack is led by leading scorer Melissa Maczuzak, younger sister of former Malone great Elizabeth Maczuzak. She ranks 2nd in NCAA DII with 469 total kills and averages 4.19 per set.
• Freshman libero Ali Kaeberlein, a Canton Central Catholic graduate, leads the defense with 3.95 digs per set..

NCAA DII #5 Wheeling Jesuit (29-2) Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Cardinals enter the weekend ranked 2nd in the nation in kills (1433), 4th in hitting percentage (.301), and 14th in opponent hitting percentage (.125). Their only two losses this season were to NCAA DII #1 Concordia St. Paul and #10 Angelo State.
• All-American setter Andrea Thobe, the nation's leader in assists (1,170), guides an attack that averages 14.37 kills per set.
• All-American outside hitter Haley Kindall leads the team in kills (3.10) and blocks (1.04) while All-American Kayce Krucki, who transitioned from outside hitter to libero in her senior season, leads the backrow with 4.19 digs per set.