CANTON, Ohio – The Malone University volleyball team won their second match in a row on Saturday afternoon in a home game versus Ashland University. The Pioneers passed the ball well for 47 kills and just 23 errors (.166 hitting percentage).
Malone's win puts them at 4-9 on the season and above .500 at 3-2 inside the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). Ashland falls to 10-4 for the year, but are 5-2 in league action.
The junior duo of
Brianne Salinas (12) and
Jaymes Gilbert (11) combined for 23 kills in the match, with Gilbert hitting .435 herself and had a double-double with a team-high 15 digs. Sophomore
Helaina Edgar recorded 23 assists and 11 digs. Freshmen
Madalyn Coblentz and
Mikayla Yockey had two aces apiece.
The Pioneers jumped out to an early lead in set one at 12-6 and did not trail from that point on. Malone rattled off five consecutive points that was capped off by an ace from sophomore
Marissa Smith that helped to seal the 25-18 set one victory. Gilbert and junior
Laiken Wallick had three kills each in the opening period.
Set two looks very similar to the first after Ashland had 11 kills, 10 errors and hit .026 in both stanzas. The Pioneers on the other hand were dominant on sideouts (26-for-36 in the first two sets combined) and hit .227 as a team. The score was tied at 1-1, but from there it was all Malone in the 25-17 win.
The Pioneers faced some adversity in set three as the Eagles looked to sneak back into the match. Ashland claimed the third set 25-15 and hit .345 (15 kills, 5 errors) compared to Malone's -.026 (8 kills, 9 errors). The Eagles used an attack at the net with five blocks in the third to make it 2-1.
The Pioneers returned to form in the fourth set to secure the win, 25-20. Malone slugged a match-high 16 kills and hit .250. Freshman
Tori Dawson had three kills in the midst of a 10-1 scoring run for the Pioneers to go up 13-4. Despite a pair of kills from freshman
Hailey Conrad, Ashland made a rally and got close, but were never able to overtake Malone in the set.
The win for the Pioneers is just the second in the NCAA DII era over the Eagles, the other coming in 2014. Up next for Malone, they travel to Walsh University and look to avenge that loss from earlier this season. First serve in North Canton is scheduled for 6:00 P.M. on Friday, October 10.
