For the second straight season, the Malone University and Trevecca Nazarene University volleyball teams needed five sets to decide a winner, but unlike last year, it was the Pioneers who came away with the exciting five-set triumph (25-16, 23-25, 22-25, 25-17, 15-13) Friday night in Nashville. With the win, Malone improves to 6-4 on the young season and 1-1 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). Trevecca, meanwhile falls to 3-8 on the year and 0-2 in conference play.
 
Recap
The Pioneers wasted little time in a quick and efficient opening set, hitting .353 with 14 kills and just two errors on their way to winning 25-16. Highlighted by a 7-2 set-ending run, Malone looked to be in control of the match early on. That was far from the case in the second set, though, as the Trojans opened up an 8-3 lead. Malone battled back to tie it and eventually go ahead by two (19-17), but a 5-0 run by TNU allowed the hosts to regain the lead and eventually take the set.
 
In the third set, Trevecca took an early 6-1 edge and would lead by as many as seven points (18-11), but an 11-3 Malone run, highlighted by a pair of Abbie Swaino service aces, gave the Pioneers a 22-21 advantage. The Trojans reacted with four straight points to claim the third set 25-22. The Pioneers regrouped and responded with a convincing 25-17 win in the fourth set on the strength of two 6-0 runs.
 
In an exciting fifth set, Malone used yet another 6-0 run to take a commanding 8-4 lead midway through the set. After trading four points, Trevecca fought back yet again, using their own 6-0 run to turn a 10-6 deficit into a 12-10 lead. The Pioneers answered the run by winning five of the final six points, including two Faith Lau kills, another Swaino ace, and a match-clinching kill by sophomore hitter Hannah Eliason, to come away with the well-earned victory.
 
Eliason posted a career-high 10 kills in the match on a .368 attacking percentage. Lau finished with a team-high 12 kills. Rachel Santos and Mallory Adams each recorded nine kills while Veronica Gehring chipped in with six. Cathryn Miller distributed a team-high 17 assists. Swaino added 15 assists and a finished the match with four aces.
 
Defensively, four Pioneers collected double-digit dig totals. Maggie Hamrock led the way with 21 digs while Adams scooped up a career-high 20. Miller and Lau completed their double-doubles with 16 and 10 digs respectively. Adams and Eliason led the way at the net, each coming away with five blocks.
 
The Malone defense was fantastic all night, limiting Trevecca to just 40 kills and a .027 hitting percentage – the lowest by a Malone opponent since 2014. The Pioneers' usually reliable service game, however, finished with 13 service errors. The two teams also combined for 14 ball handling errors.
 
Up Next
Malone will be back at it on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Kentucky Wesleyan for a 2:00pm ET (1:00pm CT) match in Owensboro. Live video and stats are available online at: portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/