The Malone University volleyball team suffered a four-set defeat to Ursuline College Friday night at home in its "Rally for a Cure" match, falling to 15-12 on the season and 11-4 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). After rolling to a 25-15 win in the first set, Malone dropped the final three 20-25, 21-25, 16-25. Ursuline, desperately needing a win to keep its postseason hopes alive, improved to 11-14 on the year and 7-9 in the G-MAC.

The Pioneers, who control their own destiny in terms of securing a home match in the G-MAC Quarterfinal, remained in a share of first place in the G-MAC East Division Standings.
 
Recap
Malone, backed by five first-set kills from Hannah Eliason, ended the opening set on a 7-0 run and seemed to be in total control of the match. The visiting Arrows were off target, posting a -.024 attacking percentage with nine kills compared to 10 attack errors.
 
Ursuline fared much better in the second set, hitting .227 and leading 17-13 early. Malone battled back by winning six of the next seven points to take a 19-18 lead, but Ursuline closed out the set on a 7-1 run that featured back-to-back service aces and four kills from All-Conference outside hitter Victoria Henderson. Malone never led over the final two sets as Ursuline cruised to the road victory.
 
G-MAC East Division Player of the Week Faith Lau totaled a team-high 14 kills in the match. Hannah Eliason added 10 kills on just 18 swings while Mallory Adams and Veronica Gehring each chipped in with seven kills. Cathryn Miller distributed 33 assists.
 
Defensively, five different players collected at least nine digs, including Maggie Hamrock (13), Lau (12), Abby Hasebein (12), Miller (10), and Sydney Black (9). Adams registered a team-leading three blocks.
 
The Arrows finished with nine service aces, tied for the most by a Malone opponent this season. Right side hitter Angela Zamora led Ursuline with 14 kills while setter Katelyn Selleny, the G-MAC career leader in assists, handed out 46 in the match.
 
Up Next
Malone will look to bounce back on Saturday against a red-hot Lake Erie team. Saturday's road match begins at 5:00 pm.