CANTON, Ohio -- The Malone University volleyball program played their home opener on Friday night. The Pioneers welcomed the Chargers of Hillsdale College to Osborne Hall for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference match. 

The Chargers (3-0, 3-0 G-MAC) entered into the contest as the No. 12 ranked team in the latest AVCA NCAA Division II national poll. 

Although the Pioneers (1-2, 1-2 G-MAC) fell behind early in each set, they rallied back all night long. Unfortunately they found themselves just short as Hillsdale escaped the upset threat with a three-set, 25-17, 25-21, 25-22 win. 

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Chargers proved worthy of their national ranking early on, scoring the first three points of the opening set unanswered before an Anna Mallette kill got Malone on the scoreboard. 

Hillsdale pushed their lead out to as many as 8-2 before a strong Malone run tightened the gap. Service aces from Elizabeth Selleny and Cierra Gurney combined with a few Charger errors got Malone to within just one point at 9-8.

The Chargers rebounded however, and were able to stay several points ahead of the Pioneers the rest of the way to score a 25-17 win in the opening set. 

The second set started out much the same with Hillsdale running out to an early lead. Hillsdale was leading 16-12 midway through when the momentum shifted in Malone's favor.

Anna Hopple and Anna Mallette put down back-to-back kills to bring the Pioneers to within two points. Malone's defense then went to work, forcing five consecutive Hillsdale errors to take a 19-16 lead. 

Unfortunately the Chargers quickly rallied back, retaking the lead at 20-19. They were then able to close out the set with a 25-21 win to take a 2-0 advantage in the match.

The Pioneers continued to fight hard in set three, staying within just one or two points of Hillsdale most of the way. But each time Malone looked poised to make a run at the lead, the Chargers had an answer.

In the end Hillsdale won the final set 25-22 to take the match 3-0.

PIONEER POINTS

• For the third straight match sophomore Anna Mallette led Malone's offense. She had a team-high 10.5 points on 10 kills and a block assist. The strong start to the season now has her ranked second in the G-MAC in kills per set (4.11).

• Brooklyn Sullivan had a nice game on the offensive side of the net. The senior posted a team-best .412 attack percentage with 8 kills on just 17 attempts. 

• Sophomore Kristen Hankins had a season-high 7 kills, and she also totaled three blocks for the Pioneers.

• Defensively, Molly Bullion led the way with a career-best 11 digs.

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Pioneers will host the Panthers of Ohio Dominican University on February 5th for a 7:00 p.m. start.