The Malone University volleyball team suffered a 22-25, 22-25, 25-19, 21-25 loss to archrival Walsh University Tuesday in front of a packed house in Osborne Hall. The loss dropped Malone to 15-14 on the season and 11-6 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). Walsh, meanwhile, improved to 17-12 overall and 13-4 in the G-MAC, extending its first-place lead in the East Division. The Pioneers' loss marked the eighth-straight to to their cross-country rivals.
 
Recap
Malone hurried out to an 8-3 lead in the opening set before the Cavaliers eventually closed the gap, took their first lead at 17-16, and then held off a Malone comeback to win 25-22. In extraordinary defensive struggle, both teams played well getting to balls, collecting digs, and extending rallies. In the second set, the score was the same and the stats were similar; the only difference was that Malone never led.
 
The Pioneers reversed that trend and led for the majority of the third set to force a decisive fourth. Malone committed just one attack error compared to 16 kills in the frame, rolling to the 25-19 win.
 
In the clinching set, Walsh raced out to a 7-0 lead before securing the victory despite six service errors in the stanza. Malone came to within three points on three separate occasions, but could not overcome a daunting Cavs' attack.
 
The Cavaliers finished with 59 kills in the match, including 18 in the final frame, 104 digs, and eight service aces. Comparatively, the Pioneers totaled 50 kills, 85 digs, and failed to register a service ace for the first time in their last 72 matches.
 
Five different players recorded at least eight kills in Malone's balanced attack, including Faith Lau, who paced the team with 12. Mallory Adams tallied 10 kills, Rachel Santos nine, and Veronica Gehring and Hannah Eliason eight apiece. Cathryn Miller led the two-setter rotation with 25 assists.
 
Defensively, Malone finished with 10 total blocks for the first time in its last eight matches. Eliason (two solo) and Adams each recorded five blocks while Santos and Miller were credited with four apiece. In the back, Maggie Hamrock dug up a team-high 20 attacks. Lau and Abby Hasebein each provided 15 digs while Sydney Black added 12 digs. Sophomore setter Elizabeth Selleny, who handed out 13 assists, completed the double-double with 13 digs.
 
Paola Ferrario led Walsh with 17 kills to go along with 19 digs. Setter Olivia Zanolli collected 51 assists, a team-high 23 digs, and four service aces.
 
Up Next
Malone closes out the regular season this Friday and Saturday at home against Findlay and Ohio Valley.