HAMMOND, Ind. – The Malone University volleyball team dropped a pair of non-conference matchups to fall to 0-3 in the Midwest Crossover Regional Tournament. The Pioneers (5-15) lost to Southwest Baptist University (11-12) and Truman State University (4-16) in straight sets.
 
MALONE vs SOUTHWEST BAPTIST RECAP:
Nothing went right in set one for the Pioneers in a 25-9 loss. The Bearcats claimed a 10-2 lead to start the match and pulled away an 18-5 edge and scored the final five points of the set. A 13-2 difference in kills-to-errors for Southwest Baptist was key.
 
The second set was much more competitive, but still it was the Bearcats winning, 25-23. Sophomore Brianne Salinas and senior Grace Rosko paced the offense in the set. The duo had a point each to get to 24-23, but the Bearcats secured the final point needed to claim victory.
 
Sophomore Jaymes Gilbert got the scoring started in set three as Malone took an early lead, but Southwest Baptist would not turn back after a five-point run that gave them a 15-10 edge. The final score of the third set was 25-19 in favor of the Bearcats.
 
Kill totals were nearly equal at 31-29 SBU, however the Bearcats had just 10 errors compared to the Pioneers' 25. Salinas led with 10 kills and senior Gabby Pelfrey recorded a team-high 14 assists. Malone had more digs at 46-45, led by senior Macy McCauley with 13. Freshmen Helaina Edgar and Emma Weirich had 10 digs apiece.
 
MALONE vs TRUMAN STATE RECAP:
A red hot offense that had 12 kills and one error for the Bulldogs led them to a 25-17 victory in the first set. Truman State took an early lead at 5-2 and scored the final six points of the first.
 
The Pioneers once again fell behind in set two and the Bulldogs would slowly increase their lead until the final score of 25-16. Another quality hitting performance for Truman State pushed them to the win.
 
Set three was the closest of the bunch, but still it went to the Bulldogs by a score of 25-19. A kill by Rosko put Malone up 4-3, but Truman State would soon turn the table in the match. Salinas, Pelfrey and Gilbert had kills in the midst of a 4-0 run late, but it was not enough.
 
Salinas once again had a team-high 10 kills. Gilbert had three aces to pace the offense and Pelfrey recorded 14 assists. Defensively, McCauley had 21 digs.
 
UP NEXT:
Malone returns to conference play for the remainder of the regular season, the first coming against Ursuline College on Tuesday, October 22 at 6:00 P.M.