PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- On Friday night the Malone University volleyball team kicked off the final weekend of the regular season with a Great Midwest Athletic Conference match at Lake Erie College

Unfortunately the Pioneers (2-8, 2-8 G-MAC) were on the wrong end of a thrilling five-set battle as the Storm (2-9, 2-9 G-MAC) scored a 25-17, 20-25, 25-23, 19-25, 15-5 victory.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Malone was up early in the first set, but two big runs from Lake Erie had the Storm up 15-7 midway through. The Pioneers battled back however, getting the deficit down to 18-15 on kills from Anna Mallette, Anna Hopple and Brooklyn Sullivan, but LEC was able to recover and score a 25-17 win in set one. 

The second set belonged to the Pioneers. Lake Erie made Malone work for it, as their lead was never more than five points, but in the end Malone's offensive attack was the difference in a 25-20 win. The final seven Pioneer points of the set came via kills. 

Set three was tightly contested with the lead changing hands several times. Late in the set a kill from Sullivan and an ace by Mallette gave Malone a 21-20 advantage. Unfortunately Lake Erie closed the set on a 5-2 run, including scoring the last three points in a row to win 25-23. 

The Pioneers controlled the fourth set, putting together a .364 hitting percentage. Malone fought back from an early 7-2 hole, at one point scoring six straight points to grab a 10-8 lead. The Pioneers led by as many as eight when Mallete scored an ace to put them up 21-13, and in the end tied the match up at 2-2 with a 25-19 win. 

The Lake Erie offense responded in the fifth set. This time it was the Storm who went on a huge run to grab a lead that Malone could not overcome. Lake Erie closed out the match with a 15-5 win in the decisive fifth set. 

PIONEER POINTS

• Anna Mallette put together another huge offensive performance for Malone. She scored a career-high 20 kills, and also had three service aces and a block assist to finish with 23.5 points.

• Anna Hopple also had a career night. The sophomore posted 11 kills.

• Brooklyn Sullivan made it three Pioneers with double-digit point totals as she had 10 kills.

• Abbie Swaino set a new career-high as well. The senior assisted on 31 of Malone's points.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Malone will close out the 2021 regular season tomorrow afternoon with a trip to Ursuline College. The match is set to begin at 2:00 p.m.