The Malone University volleyball team split of pair of matches during the second-day of the Gannon-Edinboro Tournament Saturday in Erie, Pennsylvania. The Pioneers opened the day with a 22-25, 12-25, 20-25 loss to Gannon University before bouncing back with a 25-20, 23-25, 25-11, 25-18 triumph over the College of Saint Rose (NY) in the nightcap. The Pioneers are now 5-8 on the season and will begin conference play next weekend.
 
Malone vs. Gannon Recap
The Knights, who went 31-3 last season, trailed only one time in the match (1-0 to begin the second set) as they held serve on their home court. Down 24-17, Malone staved off five set-points in the first set before Gannon secured the final point. Then in the second set, Gannon hit an impressive .423 on their way to a two-set lead.
 
In the third set, Malone went blow for blow until Gannon turned a slim 18-17 advantage into a wide 24-17 lead with a 6-0 run. The Pioneers held off two more set-points, but ultimately dropped their third three-set match of the season.
 
Juniors Brooklyn Sullivan and Rachel Santos led the Pioneer attack with seven kills apiece. Freshman Kayla Jarosz added six kills and junior setter Elizabeth Selleny contributed a team-high 13 assists.
 
Senior libero Sydney Black totaled a team-high 11 digs while senior middle hitter Hannah Eliason posted three blocks to pace the defense.
 
Malone vs. Saint Rose Recap
The resilient Pioneers recovered from the loss against Gannon with a 25-20 first-set victory, which featured an 8-0 Sydney Black service run. The Golden Knights fought back to tie the match with a 25-23 win in set two, but Malone overpowered its opponent in the next two sets to earn the victory.
 
The Pioneers totaled 15 kills and not a single attack error while hitting a robust .484 in third set. Malone, who came into the weekend leading all of NCAA Division II in kills, added 14 more in the final set to complete the 2-1 weekend.
 
Kayla Jarosz spiked a career-high 17 kills while hitting a staggering .517 (2 errors, 29 attacks). Hannah Eliason (.476) added 11 kills on 21 swings. Brooklyn Sullivan and Rachel Santos equaled their match-one performance with seven kills each. Elizabeth Selleny and Abbie Swaino handed out 28 and 19 assists, respectively.
 
In addition to a season-high .306 attacking percentage, the Pioneers served up 14 total services aces in the match, their most since 2013. Swaino totaled four aces, Selleny had three, Sydney Black had three, Hannah Eliason tallied two, and Faith Lau and Abby Hasebein each recorded an ace.
 
Black (17 digs), Lau (15), and Swaino (10) led the defensive back row while Eliason recorded two blocks to lead the charge at the net.
 
Up Next
The Pioneers are off until next Saturday, September 28th when they open G-MAC play at home against Ohio Dominican.