CANTON, Ohio – The Malone University volleyball team lost to Ohio Dominican University in straight sets at home on Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers fall to 4-12 on the year as the Panthers move to 14-3. In the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), Malone drops to 2-5 while Ohio Dominican improves to 7-1.
The Pioneers were off to a slow start in the first set as the Panthers' offense took a 12-3 lead. Malone tried to find an answer with points from
Jaymes Gilbert, Marissa Smith, Brianne Salinas, and
Emma Weirich, but fell short as Ohio Dominican took a 25-10 victory for the first period.
The Pioneers came out in the second set with urgency as they took a 11-6 lead thanks to back-to-back kills by Smith and Weirich. The Panthers didn't back down as they gained momentum and took a 13-12 lead. Smith, Salinas, and Weirich continued to earn kills for Malone, but Ohio Dominican took the final point, 25-22 to make the match 2-0 Panthers.
The third set was a close battle as the Pioneers kept the set to a one-point differential early on with kills by Gilbert,
Hailey Conrad, and Salinas to make the score 8-8. Both teams continued to trade points with each other until the Panthers had a breakthrough to take a 18-14 lead. Conrad and Salinas kept Malone's hopes alive with three straight kills to get to within one at 18-17. Ohio Dominican continued their pressure until the very end to take a 25-20 victory.
Malone's offense was led by Smith (8) and Salinas (8), as they recorded 16-of-28 kills for the Pioneers.
Kelsey Williams (14) and
Helaina Edgar (11) combined for 25-of-27 assists for Malone.
Jaclyn Jundzilo recorded a career-high 21 digs despite the loss.
The Malone volleyball team will travel to Crestview Hills, Kentucky on October 9 to take on the Thomas More University Saints for another G-MAC matchup. The match will begin at 6:00 P.M.
