CANTON, Ohio -- The Malone University volleyball team closed out the home portion of their 2021 season on Saturday afternoon with a Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) match against the Ursuline College Arrows. 

The Pioneers (10-17, 5-10 G-MAC) dropped the opening set, but rebounded to win the next three in a row to grab the 3-1 victory over the Arrows (9-17, 5-9 G-MAC). 

The final set scores in favor of Malone were: 23-25, 28-26, 25-16, 25-18. 

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
A big run from the Arrows midway through the opening set gave them a 14-10 lead. Ursuline stretched that advantage out to 18-13, before holding off a late comeback from the Pioneers. 

A kill from Kristen Hankins, an Ursuline error, and a service ace from Anna Mallette brought Malone to within one point at 21-20. 

Unfortunately the Arrows outscored MU 4-3 down the stretch to pull out the 25-23 set one win. 

The second set was back-and-forth, but a late Pioneer rally helped swing momentum in favor of Malone. 

The Pioneers found themselves down 19-17 late, but then scored the next six points of the match unanswered to grab a lead. That rally included three kills from Mallette, and one each from Anna Hopple and Grace Rosko. 

The Arrows fought back and actually led 25-24 and 26-25, but MU staved off the set point each time. 

A kill from Rosko tied the set at 26-26. A swing from Ri'Gyn Humes gave Malone the 27-26 lead, and then Mallette finished off the 28-26 set win with another kill. 

The comeback in the second set set the tone for the remainder of the match as Ursuline never really recovered. 

The Pioneers offense continued to hit on all cylinders in set three, putting down 17 kills on a .516 attack percentage to pick up the 25-16 win. 

Malone's defense gave the Arrows nothing in set four. Ursuline made 11 errors, and had a zero attack percentage in a 25-18 Malone win. 


PIONEER POINTS

• Anna Mallette came up just one kill shy of her season-high. The junior led Malone with 16, and now has a team-high 270 on the season. 
• Ri'Gyn Humes put down 11.5 points, including nine kills. 
• Grace Rosko was also one kill shy of her career-high with eight.
• Kristen Hankins had a huge day on the defensive side of the net. She had seven total blocks, including three block solos. 
• Molly Bullion's 26 assists were a season-high. 
• Macy McCauley posted a career-high 28 digs. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Malone will close out the 2021 season next weekend when they travel to crosstown rival Walsh University. Saturday's first serve from North Canton is set for 1:00 p.m.