Malone University Athletics

CANTON, Ohio - The Malone University volleyball team celebrated their three seniors in Jaclyn Jundzilo, Jaymes Gilbert and Brianne Salinas prior to the start of Saturday's match against Cedarville University. The Pioneers battled with the Yellow Jackets for five sets, but ultimately it was Cedarville who came away with the 3-2 victory.
 
The Yellow Jackets will enter the postseason with a record of 16-10 overall and a 12-3 mark inside the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). The 2026 season comes to an end for the Pioneers at 4-24 and 2-14 in league action.
 
The senior leadership of Salinas (18 kills) and Gilbert (13 kills) led Malone offensively. Jundzilo recorded a team-high three aces as well as 13 digs. Hailey Conrad was a force defensively with 12 blocks in total, one solo. Her 12 total blocks and 11 block assists are both the most in a game in the program's NCAA Division II era and 11 block assists are the most in any game since 1999.
 
Salinas and Meryn Stacy posed a threat offensively for the Pioneers in set one with a combined seven kills out of 12 for the team. Cedarville was able to hit .303 in the first en route to a 25-18 win. Malone got back to even with a 28-26 victory in the second set. The duo of Conrad and Kassidy Gorsuch had a string of three blocks in a row to give the home team some positive momentum. Facing set point, the Pioneers netted three consecutive points to close the period and secure the second set.
 
Salinas continued to pace the offense and moved her total to 14 after set three. Malone claimed a 2-1 edge with a 25-22 win in the third. The Yellow Jackets held a 20-15 lead, but a 10-2 scoring run to close the frame propelled the Pioneers to victory. Six of the final eight points for Malone in the third came from seniors.
 
In set four, a kill by Emma Weirich gave the Pioneers a 9-5 advantage, but Cedarville closed the gap with a scoring run. The Pioneers competed, but it was another 4-0 run for the opponents that forced a set five at 25-20 Yellow Jackets. The fifth set was kind to Cedarville with a 6-of-9 sideout rate and a negative hitting percentage for Malone. The Yellow Jackets took the final set 15-9 and the match 3-2.
 
Cedarville hit .270 in the match compared to Malone's .209. The Pioneers were outpaced slightly on kills, 69-60, but had a 15-9 advantage on blocks.
 
Head Coach Lauren Allaway has her first season at the helm of Malone volleyball under her belt and the team will look to grow this spring in preparation of the 2027 campaign.