Needing a win to secure a berth in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Tournament, the Malone University volleyball team delivered its best performance of the season with a dominating 25-12, 25-13, 25-14 victory over Davis & Elkins College Thursday night in Osborne Hall. With the win, the Pioneers improved to 15-11 on the season and 9-5 in the G-MAC. The Senators, meanwhile, dropped to 9-18 overall and 7-8 in conference.
 
Recap
The Pioneers set the tone early with a 7-0 run to start the match before doubling up the Senators on their way to claiming the opening set, 25-12. Malone posted a .433 attacking percentage with 15 kills and just two errors in the frame while the visitors recorded just seven kills and were guilty of nine attack errors. The trend continued in the second set as Malone nearly doubled up D&E once again, recording a .346 attack percentage in the second while the Senators landed just four kills in a lopsided effort.
 
Malone led from start to finish in a convincing third-set win in which it led 23-8 before Davis & Elkins put together a 6-0 run that marked the only time in the match that the Senators registered three or more straight points. The Pioneers ended the run with a Georgia Kiko kill and ended the match with a Julia Marino ace.
 
Malone finished the match with a season-high .372 hitting percentage, committing a season-low six attack errors. Davis & Elkins struggled with its attack all night, coming away with just 20 kills compared to 24 attack errors and a -.040 hitting average. The Pioneers' .372 attack percentage was the highest of the season, surpassing the previous mark of .298 against Mercyhurst, and their best performance since hitting .406 against Pitt-Johnstown in 2014. D&E's -.040 mark was the worst by a Malone opponent in the Division II era.
 
Two Pioneers, Veronica Gehring and Mallory Adams, reached double-digits in kills, each finishing with 10. Gehring hit an even .500 in the match. Faith Lau hit a season-high .471 with eight kills on just 17 attacks. Cathryn Miller (12), Elizabeth Selleny (11), and Abbie Swaino (10) accounted for 33 of Malone's 36 assists.
 
Lau led the Pioneer defense with a match-high 12 digs. Sydney Black chipped in with 10 digs. Adams and Hannah Eliason each registered two blocks.
 
Up Next
Malone returns home on Friday to host Ohio Valley on Senior Night at 7:00 pm. Pioneers senior Julia Marino will be honored before the start of the match.