The Malone University volleyball team dropped to 14-7 on the season Tuesday night, falling to Tiffin University in a non-conference match. Tiffin, who will join the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) next season, improved to 11-10 on the year with a 25-18, 25-21, 25-12 win over Malone in the Pioneers' annual "Dig Pink" match.
 
Recap
Malone had no answer for the hot-hitting Dragons, who raced out to an 11-4 lead in the first set and never looked back. Tiffin registered a .517 attacking percentage with 17 kills and just two errors as they opened up a 1-0 lead.
 
Tiffin cooled off considerably in the second set, hitting just .125. After being down by as many as five points early in the frame, Malone battled back to take a 18-16 lead on the strength of a 5-0 run. The Dragons answered by winning nine of the next 12 points, including the final four in a row, to go up by two sets. Malone hit .000 with seven attack errors and just seven kills in a lopsided third set. The Dragons, meanwhile, landed 16 kills, committed just one attack error, and hit .484 on their way to the road sweep.
 
For the match, Tiffin posted a .350 attacking percentage with 44 kills and only nine errors. Malone totaled just 32 kills compared to 20 errors and a .112 hitting average.
 
Veronica Gehring recorded nine kills to lead the Malone attack. Faith Lau chipped in with seven kills. Cathryn Miller finished with a team-high 15 assists, Abbie Swaino added 12.
 
Defensively, Maggie Hamrock and Mallory Adams each collected eight digs. Brooklyn Sullivan provided two blocks.
 
Up Next
Malone will return to G-MAC action this weekend when they host Findlay and Hillsdale in a pair of challenging home matches.