NORTH CANTON, Ohio - The Malone University volleyball team had their two-match win streak snapped in a 3-0 loss to the Walsh University Cavaliers on Friday. The Pioneers fall to 4-10 overall and 3-3 inside the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). Walsh remains undefeated in conference play at 6-0 and are 12-3 on the season.
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Junior
Laiken Wallick had three kills early in the match, but the Pioneers fell behind at the first called timeout, 13-8. Malone was unable to contain a Cavalier offense that hit .367 in the 25-15 set one win with 14 kills and just three errors.
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The offense for the Pioneers was much improved in the second set, but it was set up by a much better effort on opposing attacks. The team trailed just 16-14 before a 6-0 scoring run fueled Walsh to a 25-21 victory to take a 2-0 lead. Junior
Jaymes Gilbert helped with a late rally via a solo block and three kills, but it was not enough to overcome the wide deficit.
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The Cavaliers got up early in set three to claim the sweep by a score of 25-17. Walsh refused to make a mistake on offense despite the best efforts of Malone. Senior
Annika Nichols, junior
Jaclyn Jundzilo, sophomore
Annabelle Kegley and freshman
Arianna Buckley were called upon in the third set to try to shift momentum, but it was unsuccessful.
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Gilbert and freshman
Hailey Conrad tied for the team lead with seven kills each. Sophomore
Helaina Edgar recorded 21 assists, her third straight match above 20 assists. Freshman
Madalyn Coblentz led the way defensively with eight digs. The Pioneers kept pace in kills, losing the battle 45-39, but 13 more attack errors gave the Cavaliers important free points. Malone had a 48-47 edge on total digs.
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The Pioneers continue their road trip on Saturday, October 11 at Lake Erie College beginning at 1:00 P.M.
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