The Malone University volleyball team fell to 5-6 on the season and 1-2 on the Great Midwest Athletic Conference after suffering a 15-25, 15-25, 26-28 setback to Tiffin University Tuesday night on the road. The win marked the sixth straight for the Dragons, who improved to 8-3 on the season and 3-0 in the G-MAC.
 
Recap
In a match that looked very similar to the three-set loss to Tiffin last season, the Pioneers struggled to find consistency, particularly in the first two sets when they posted just 16 combined kills and a .011 attacking percentage. Malone managed just one lead, 1-0 in the second set, over the first two frames.
 
A much closer third set featured 14 ties and seven lead changes. The Pioneers led by as many as four points midway through, but a 4-0 Tiffin run quickly erased their 15-11 advantage. Following a timeout with Tiffin up 23-22 later in the set, Malone battled back with a big kill by Brooklyn Sullivan and a block by Cathryn Miller, which forced set-point.
 
After a Tiffin kill tied it at 24-24, Mallory Adams delivered a kill to give the Pioneers a second set-point, but the Dragons answered by winning four of the next five points to claim the match.
 
Tiffin totaled 52 kills in the match, including 23 in the final set, while Malone landed 32 kills, half of which came in the final frame. The Pioneers hit a collective .087 as their counterparts finished with a .230 hitting percentage. Coming into the match leading the G-MAC with over 19 digs per set, Malone upped their average with 69 digs, but the Dragons responded with 89 digs in the three-setter.
 
Junior outside hitter Faith Lau led Malone with eight kills, Hannah Eliason added seven, and Veronica Gehring chipped in with six. Cathryn Miller handed out 29 assists from her setter spot.
 
Senior libero Maggie Hamrock led Malone with 20 digs, Lau totaled 14, and Miller collected nine. Miller and Mallory Adams each tallied three blocks at the net.
 
Tiffin's Jenna Huffman recorded a match-high 11 kills, four blocks, and 11 digs while her sister Loryn Huffman registered 26 assists and a match-high 22 digs.
 
Up Next
Malone will return home this Friday and Saturday for a pair of conference matches against Alderson Broaddus and Davis & Elkins.