Malone University Athletics

CANTON, Ohio - The Malone University volleyball team kicked off the 2026 season on Friday in the Hall of Fame City Challenge. The Pioneers picked up their first victory of the new campaign over the University of Charleston in five sets, the first in the Malone career of Head Coach Lauren Allaway.
 
The 3-2 win over Charleston was the final match out of five on the day. The other that the Pioneers participated in came against Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, a three-set loss in an afternoon contest. Malone wraps up day one of the home event at 1-1.
 
MALONE vs EDINBORO RECAP:
A pair of service aces from Madalyn Coblentz helped fuel the early offense for the Pioneers in set one. They led 12-11 at that time, but the Fighting Scots (1-0) netted nine of the next 12 points to go up 20-15. Four of the final five points also went to Edinboro in the 25-19 loss.
 
Attack errors doomed the home squad in set two. Malone had just seven kills compared to 12 errors on their swings and the Fighting Scots seized momentum in the match with a 25-13 triumph. Edinboro had a match-low two attack errors in the second.
 
The best set of the matinee contest for the Pioneers was the third and final, but still resulted in a 25-20 defeat. Jaymes Gilbert combined for back-to-back blocks with Brianne Salinas and Marissa Smith in the midst of a five-point run that evened the score at 19-19. Malone would not be able to keep that momentum, however and ultimately fell short in both the set and match.
 
Gilbert was the team leader with nine kills in match one and totaled 12.5 points with six blocks (one solo). Helaina Edgar (13 assists) and Kelsey Williams (11 assists) shared the role of setter evenly. Edgar and libero Emma Weirich tied with 11 digs apiece.  
 
MALONE vs CHARLESTON RECAP:
A back-and-forth match began with the Golden Eagles (0-2) up 1-0 thanks to a 25-22 set one win. Consecutive kills by Hailey Conrad netted early momentum for the Pioneers, but it could not be maintained. A 7-1 scoring run for Charleston made the score 19-14. Malone closed in on their opponents, but the deficit was too much to overcome.
 
Set two marked the first to go the Pioneers' way. The Golden Eagles led 14-9 at one point, but a kill by Smith started an 11-3 run for Malone. Jaclyn Jundzilo wrapped up that spree with an ace and Smith was the beneficiary of the kill to end the period, 25-20, and even the match at one.
 
Charleston rebounded in the third with a match-high 18 kills. Kassidy Gorsuch came to life late in the third with three kills in the closing stages of the period, but with the score tied at 23, the Golden Eagles netted back-to-back points to claim the advantage, 2-1.
 
Set four was the best of the day for Malone. They did not relinquish the lead to their opponents and had 15 kills compared to one error (.467 hitting percentage). The Pioneers led by as many as ten at 23-13 and cruised to a 25-16 victory to force a deciding set five.
 
Charleston scored the first three points and led 10-6 at one point in the fifth, but with their backs against the wall, came together for five in a row. Edgar was the final blow in that run with an ace to go up 11-10. The final three points belonged to the Pioneers, including a kill from Williams to score the 16-14 win in the final set.
 
Malone had a better total hitting percentage at .261 on the night while the defense held Charleston to .179 as a team. Smith (14 kills) led a trio of Pioneers in double figures that also included Gilbert (12 kills) and Gorsuch (12 kills). Edgar distributed most of the assists with 29 and she led the team with four aces. The defense saw Jundzilo, Coblentz and Williams split 33 total digs evenly amongst the group. Malone had nine blocks compared to six from the Golden Eagles, led by Gilbert who chipped in on five block assists.
 
UP NEXT:
The final match for Malone in the Hall of Fame City Challenge comes against Roberts Wesleyan University on Saturday, August 29 at 1:30 P.M.