The Malone University volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on day two of the Urbana University Invitational Saturday, losing a three-set match to Armstrong State (GA) and a four-setter to the tournament hosts Urbana. The youthful Pioneers dropped to 3-9 on the season.
 
In Saturday's opener, Armstrong State (10-1) proved to be too much as the Pirates outhit the Pioneers .333 to .104 and collected 48 kills to Malone's 26 in the 25-10, 25-19, 27-25 victory.
 
Veronica Gehring led Malone with eight kills while Lauren Hamko finished with five kills. Cathryn Miller registered 22 assists and a pair of service aces.
 
Defensively, Haley Kool led the way with four blocks while Hannah Eliason contributed three blocks. Lynsey Trusty and Maggie Hamrock collected seven and six digs respectively.
 
In the nightcap, Malone fared just slightly better, falling to Urbana 16-25, 17-25, 25-23, 23-25.
 
The Pioneers struggled in the first two sets, hitting just .095 to Urbana's .323. They responded to capture the third set but failed to mount the comeback in the fourth and final set. Facing a 19-24 deficit in the decisive set, Malone held off four straight match points but a Blue Knights' kill secured the victory.
 
Veronica Gehring set a career-high with 17 kills in the match. Mallory Adams added 10 kills. Miller posted 31 assists while defensive specialist Julia Marino delivered four service aces.
 
Defensively, Adams led Malone with five blocks while Haley Kool added four blocks in the process of surpassing the 200-mark for her career. Trusty finished with a game-high 18 digs.
 
The Pioneers will look to bounce back next weekend when they open up their Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) slate against Kentucky Wesleyan on Friday, September 23rd at 7:00 pm.