NORTH CANTON, Ohio -- The Malone University volleyball team made the short trip up Market Avenue on Saturday afternoon for the 2021 finale against rival Walsh University.
Unfortunately the host Cavaliers (17-10, 11-5 G-MAC) came away with a sweep of the Pioneers (10-18, 5-11 G-MAC). The final set scores in favor of Walsh were 26-24, 25-20, 25-18.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
After the first set started out with a lot of back and forth between both teams, Malone looked like they would take control with a huge run midway through the set.
The Pioneers were leading 8-7, and then scored the next seven points unanswered to push their advantage out to 15-7.
The run was highlighted by three kills from junior
Anna Hopple.
Unfortunately Walsh settled in and slowly chipped away at Malone's lead. Eventually the Cavaliers were able to tie the set at 20-20.
After
Anna Mallette put down a kill, Walsh went on a quick 4-0 run to bring about the set point.
Malone was able to fight back and tie the set at 24-24, but the Cavaliers scored the final two points in a row to score the 26-24 win.
Neither team led by more than just a couple of points for most of the way in set two. Unfortunately that changed when Walsh closed out the set by scoring the final five points unanswered to score the 25-20 win.
The Pioneers continued to fight down the stretch in the third set, but a big run midway through by the Cavaliers proved to be too much to overcome.
Ri'Gyn Humes notched a service ace to cut the Walsh lead down to 12-9, but WU responded by scoring six of the next seven points to move ahead 18-10.
Malone got as close as 22-16 on a kill by Humes, but Walsh ultimately held on to complete the sweep with a 25-18 win.
PIONEER POINTS
- Anna Hopple put down ten kills to lead Malone's offensive effort. It was the second double-digit scoring effort of the season for the junior.
- Anna Mallette chipped in nine kills. She finishes the season with a team-high and career-best 279 kills.
- Molly Bullion notched a team-high 14 assists. She also led the Pioneers with three service aces.
To keep up to date with everything surrounding the Malone University athletic programs this year follow the Pioneers on Twitter and Instagram, like Malone University Athletics on Facebook or visit malonepioneers.com.
