The Malone University volleyball team picked up its fourth-straight win on Friday night with an exciting 25-17, 22-25, 25-18, 35-33 victory over visiting Kentucky Wesleyan College. The Pioneers needed eight match-points in the fourth set before finally topping the Panthers in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference clash. With the win, Malone improved to 9-6 on the season and 5-2 in the G-MAC. Kentucky Wesleyan fell to 9-7 overall and 4-4 in league play.
 
Recap
It was all Pioneers in the first set as the trio of Rachel Santos, Hannah Eliason, and Mallory Adams evenly divided 12 kills and Abby Hasebein scooped up eight digs in the 25-17 triumph, which featured a 6-0 Malone run early on in the frame. A much closer second set saw the two teams tied 13 times, a reoccurring theme two sets later, before the Panthers prevailed. Locked up at 19-19, KWC won six of the next nine points to even the match at a set apiece.
 
Six kills by Veronica Gehring in the third set helped Malone recapture the advantage. Trailing briefly at 3-0, Malone battled back to quickly tie it before eventually pulling away on an 8-2 run and closing the set with the 25-18 advantage. What followed in the fourth set was an instant classic.
 
The back-and forth final frame featured 26 ties and 16 lead changes. The Pioneers maintained the only three-point lead of the set at 8-5, but saw it slip through their fingers on a 5-0 Kentucky Wesleyan rally. An onslaught of momentum swings ensued as the two squads combined for just four two-point leads for the remainder of the set.
 
Trailing 23-21, Malone answered with three straight tallies to force the first of its match-points at 24-23. The Pioneers would fail to secure the match on four consecutive match-points, losing three on service errors. While Kentucky Wesleyan was relentless in pursuit of a fifth set, Malone showed its own resolve, holding off three Panther set-points.
 
After failing to clinch the set on 29-28, 31-30, and 32-31 leads, the Pioneers saw themselves down 33-32. A clutch kill by Mallory Adams sent the set to its 26th and final tie at 33-33 before an assisted block by Eliason and Adams gave Malone the 34-33 edge. A KWC attack error on the next serve went just long of the sideline to give the Pioneers a 35-33 win in the fourth set and the three sets-to-one victory.
 
Head Coach Tanya Hockman's five-hitter, one-setter attack accounted for a season-high 63 kills in the marathon match. Senior distributor Cathryn Miller handed out 51 assists, marking the third-most of her career. Classmates Mallory Adams (16) and Veronica Gehring (12) combined on 28 kills, including 12 in the clinching set.
 
Sophomore right side Rachel Santos collected a career-high 12 kills in the match, while junior middle Hannah Eliason equaled her with a dozen kill spikes. Faith Lau chipped in with nine kills in the balanced attack while Miller and Maggie Hamrock each collected a pair of aces in the service game.
 
Defensively, Hamrock led the way with 24 digs, Lau added 17, freshman Abby Hasebein totaled a season-high 14, and Miller totaled 12. At the net, Mallory Adams, who came in ranked 4th in the G-MAC in blocks, finished with six blocks, including three solo. Hannah Eliason, who came in as the G-MAC leader in blocks, totaled three.
 
Up Next
Malone will look for its fifth straight win on Saturday when it takes on Trevecca Nazarene at 12:00 pm.