Down to its final two weeks of the regular season, the Malone University volleyball team will play a pair of critical Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) East Division contests this weekend with hopes of securing a home playoff match. The Pioneers, who already clinched a berth in the G-MAC Championship Tournament, will host Ursuline College this Friday, October 26th at 7:00 pm before traveling to Painesville on Saturday, October 27th to take on Lake Erie College at 5:00 pm.
 
Malone, now 15-11 on the season and 11-3 in the G-MAC, Lake Erie and Ursuline are all among the top four teams in the East Division Standings. With two wins this weekend, Malone can guarantee a home G-MAC Quarterfinal match on Tuesday, November 6th.
 
Friday's match will be also be "Dig Pink" match as the Pioneer volleyball team raises awareness and funds in support of the fight against cancer. To read more about the volleyball team's cancer awareness efforts, please visit malonepioneers.com/cancerawareness.

Match Info
10/26 Malone vs. Ursuline – 7:00 pm
10/27 Malone at Lake Erie – 5:00 pm
Live Video/Stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/malone

Malone Notes 

• Led by junior outside hitter Faith Lau, Malone stopped a three-match slide last weekend with a pair of three-set road victories at Davis & Elkins and Alderson Broaddus. Lau collected 28 kills and six service aces across the two matches and was named the G-MAC East Division Player of the Week.
• While Lau leads the team in service aces (27), Mallory Adams leads the team in kills (2.90 per set), hitting percentage (.297), and blocks (1.10 per set). The senior standout, who became the all-time block assists leader at Malone earlier this season, is six blocks shy of 400 total in her career.
• While Adams ranks second in the G-MAC in blocks, junior middle hitter Hannah Eliason is 3rd with 1.00 per set. Eliason is also second on the team in kills (2.75 per set) and hitting (.276). In a five-set win over Lake Erie earlier this season, she spiked a career-high 21 kills.
• Senior outside hitter Veronica Gehring tied a career-high with 17 kills in the Lake Erie match. On the season, she is averaging 2.52 kills per set.
• Setter Cathryn Miller has played a big part in the hitters' success, averaging 9.44 assists per set, including 10.84 per set in conference matches. The latter number is good enough for fourth-best in the G-MAC.
• Senior libero Maggie Hamrock is seventh in the G-MAC with 4.67 digs per set.
• As a team, Malone ranks second in the G-MAC in digs (18.12 per set) and opponent hitting percentage (.166) and leads the conference in blocks (2.21 per set).
• Malone is 7-4 at home this season and 5-1 in home conference matches, including wins in five straight. Since joining the G-MAC in 2016, Malone is 4-1 against Friday opponent Ursuline, including a 25-22, 25-14, 25-16 win over the Arrows in early September.

Ursuline Notes

• The Arrows enter the week with a 10-14 record, including a 6-9 mark in the G-MAC. Since starting the season 8-7, Ursuline has lost seven of its last nine matches. As a team, Ursuline ranks top-5 in the G-MAC in aces and digs.
• Outside hitter Victoria Henderson leads the team and ranks 6th in the G-MAC in kills (3.59 per set) while libero Kassidy Stilwell ranks 6th in the G-MAC in digs (4.67 per set).
• Arrows' setter Katelyn Selleny, older sister of Malone's Elizabeth Selleny, ranks fourth in the G-MAC in service aces and fifth in assists (9.88 per set). Selleny recently became the G-MAC leader in all-time assists (3,454).
   

Lake Erie Notes

• The Storm enter the weekend with an 18-9 record, including a 9-6 record in conference. LEC had won six of seven matches prior to losing to G-MAC top seed Hillsdale in four sets this past Sunday.
• Lake Erie leads the G-MAC in team digs and ranks top-5 in the league in aces, kills, hitting percentage, and opponents hitting percentage.
• Libero Morgan Briggs leads the league in digs (6.02 per set), outside hitter Crystal Kedroske is fourth in kills (3.79 per set), and setter Alexis Thomas is fourth in assists (10.09 per set)