CANTON, Ohio - On day one of the Hall of Fame City Challenge, the Malone University volleyball team fell to 0-6 on the year with a three-set loss to Slippery Rock University (2-3) and a four-set defeat at the hands of the University of Illinois Springfield (3-1).
 
MALONE vs SLIPPERY ROCK RECAP:
Malone took advantage of Slippery Rock miscues in the first set and claimed an 8-1 lead, but the Rock would chip away and take the lead at 12-11. Jaymes Gilbert strung together three kills late in the frame, but it was not enough in a 25-23 set one loss.
 
Neither side led by more than a few points in set number two. Back-to-back kills by Taryn McGonigle put the Pioneers in front 22-19, but facing set point, Slippery Rock scored four points in a row for the 26-24 win. Malone had a match-high 15 kills in the second.
 
The third set was the most lopsided of the bunch as the Rock pulled away for a 25-14 set win. Slippery Rock did not surrender the lead in the period and held the Pioneers to their lowest hitting percentage of the match (nine kills, seven errors).
 
The Rock had a wide discrepancy in hitting percentage at .180 to .086 as well as ten more kills (45-35) and ten more digs (68-58). McGonigle and Brianne Salinas tied for the team lead with nine kills each. Helaina Edgar recorded 20 assists, and Madalyn Coblentz (14) and Emma Weirich (12) were in double figures in digs.
 
MALONE vs ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD RECAP:
Malone hit .333 (11 kills, 24 attempts) in set one en route to a 25-17 win. They were aided by 11 errors by their opponents in the win, including five in a row in the final five points of the set. McGonigle got her second match started on the right foot with five kills.
 
The Prairie Stars drew back to even in set two, 25-22. The Pioneers had more kills, but could not come away with the win. Salinas made her mark with three kills along with Arianna Buckley. In set three, blocks for Malone, including a solo effort from Hailey Conrad, helped give them a 16-10 advantage. The Pioneers led 23-17 before Illinois Springfield rattled off eight straight points to secure the set win, 25-23.
 
A poor start in set four after having lost all momentum in the previous set doomed Malone from the jump. The Pioneers trailed 10-2, but clawed back late to make it a three-point game, 20-17. The Prairie Stars successfully regrouped and forced a negative hitting percentage by Malone in the 25-20 match-clinching win.
 
The Pioneers held an 11-5 advantage at the net in blocks, led by Gilbert with six. She also paced the offense with nine kills. Edgar (17) and Mikayla Yockey (16) were nearly even in assists. The libero Coblentz was the lone Malone student-athlete with ten digs.
 
UP NEXT:
The Hall of Fame City Challenge continues on Saturday, September 13 with a home contest versus Bluefield State University at 9:00 A.M.