HILLSDALE, Mich. -- The Malone University volleyball team closed out the 2022 regular season on Saturday night by traveling to take on the Hillsdale College Chargers. 

After dropping the opening set, the Pioneers rallied back for a win in set two. Unfortunately the Chargers, who entered the contest as one of a handful of teams receiving votes in the most recent AVCA NCAA Division II Top-25 poll, took the final two sets to pick up the 3-1 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) win.

The loss prevents Malone from qualifying for the 2022 Great Midwest Championship Tournament. 

THE ESSENTIALS

• Final Score: (RV) Hillsdale College Chargers 3 - Malone University Pioneers 1 | 16-25, 25-19, 20-25, 12-25
• Records: Hillsdale (24-6, 16-2 G-MAC) | Malone (11-19, 7-11 G-MAC)
• Location: Hillsdale, Michigan | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena

HIGHLIGHTS
After a huge offensive effort by Hillsdale in the opening set, that included doubling Malone's kill total 14-7, the Chargers looked poised to run away with the match.

HC led by as many as twelve points before ultimately settling for a 25-14 win in set one. 

The Pioneers rallied back in a big way however.

MU's offense responded by putting down 16 kills in the second set en route to a 25-19 win. 

With Malone leading 19-17 late, the Pioneers went on a quick 3-0 run that helped put some distance between the two teams. Anna Mallette and Gabi Smith each had a kill before Molly Bullion capped the run with a service ace. 

Eventually MU was able to close out the 25-19 set win with a kill from CC Gurney and a Hillsdale attack error. 

With the match tied at 1-1 Hillsdale answered with a 25-20 win in the third set to grab the upper hand in the match.

This time around it was the Chargers who got three late unanswered points to create a deficit that Malone could not overcome. 

The fourth set was all Hillsdale. HC put down 14 kills compared to just five for MU, and ultimately closed out the match with a 25-12 win.

DETAILS
Anna Mallette led Malone with ten kills. That number gives the senior from North Canton an even 850 kills for her Malone University career. 

CC Gurney and Grace Rosko each added seven kills. 

Macy McCauley finished with 29 digs. The two-time Great Midwest North Division Defensive Player of the Week finishes the year with 554 digs and an average of 5.23 digs per set.

FOLLOW THE PIONEERS
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