The Malone University volleyball team opened up day one of the Wayne State University Warrior Invitational on Friday with a 1-1 record over two matches. The Pioneers began the tournament on Friday morning with a non-conference match against Ursuline, in which they prevailed in five sets. In the afternoon session, Malone won the first set against Southern Indiana, but then dropped three in a row to lose in disappointing fashion. Through seven matches so far this season, the Pioneers sport a 2-5 record.
 
Malone 3, Ursuline 2 (25-16, 25-15, 26-28, 24-26, 15-10)
The Pioneers never trailed by more than a single point in the first set and then broke a 11-11 tie with a 14-4 run in the second set to take a commanding lead. Anna Mallette and Rachel Santos combined for 11 of the team's 20 kills in the set as Malone looked well on its way to a three-set sweep. Ursuline, a G-MAC Tournament team a season ago, had other plans, however.
 
The Arrows staved off defeat in the third frame, holding off a furious Malone comeback. Trailing 24-18, Malone won seven straight points to take a 25-24 advantage, but ultimately lost the set following back-to-back attack errors. A close fourth set went the way of the Arrows, forcing Malone into its third straight five-set match.
 
In the decisive final set, the Pioneers raced out to an 11-4 lead and took advantage of eight Ursuline attack errors on their path to win number two of the season.
 
A left-handed swing by impressive freshman Kayla Jarosz sealed the victory for the Pioneers as she finished with 15 kills. She and Rachel Santos, who also tallied a career-high 15 kills, were nearly indefensible at the right side pin. On the left side, Faith Lau produced 14 kills while Mallette, another standout frosh, followed with 13. Middle hitter Hannah Eliason chipped in with seven of the team's 68 kills.
 
Abbie Swaino guided the Malone attack with 29 setter assists while Elizabeth Selleny totaled 21 assists. Back row specialist Abby Hasebein added three service aces.
 
Hasebein was one of three Pioneers with 15 or more digs; she finished with 15 digs, Lau collected 16, and libero Sydney Black tied a career-high with 22 digs. Eliason and Jarosz were forces at the net defensively, totaling seven and five blocks, respectively.
 
Victoria Henderson led the Arrows with 14 kills and 13 digs.
 
Southern Indiana 3, Malone 1 (20-25, 26-24, 27-25, 25-21)
A season after sweeping the Screaming Eagles in Canton last fall, Malone had little trouble en route to winning the first set against USI in 2019, but slowly saw the match slip away in the final three frames.
 
Malone led 24-21 in set number two, but a 5-0 USI run featuring three Pioneer attack errors evened the match at a set apiece. Malone once again had set-point at 24-22 in the third stanza, but three attack errors and a service error led to a win for the Eagles.
 
In the final frame, Malone maintained a 20-17 edge, but an 8-1 run led to a hard-to-swallow 21-25 loss and a four-set defeat. The Pioneers were charted with a staggering 50 total errors in the match.
 
Hannah Eliason was a bright spot in the attack, racking up 15 kills along with a pair of aces. She was followed by Kayla Jarosz and Rachel Santos each with nine kills, and Brooklyn Sullivan who spiked a career-high eight kills from the middle. Abbie Swaino posted a team-high 19 assists while Elizabeth Selleny recorded 16. Sydney Black tallied a team-high three aces to aid in the scoring.
 
Defensively, Black added to her impressive game-one total with a career-high 23 digs in the second match, as she surprised 800 career digs during the day.
 
Leah Anderson and Lindsey Stose led the Screaming Eagles with 14 kills and eight digs each.
 
Up Next
Malone battles Missouri-St. Lous (UMSL) Saturday morning at 11:15 am and then closes out the tournament with a 6:00 pm contest against host Wayne State at 6:00 pm.