Malone University Athletics

PAINESVILLE, Ohio - The Malone University volleyball team lost the season series with Lake Erie College with a 3-1 loss on the road on Friday. The Pioneers fall to 3-7 on the season with a 1-1 mark inside the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). The Storm are 5-5 and 3-1 in conference play with two of those victories coming against Malone.
 
Early scoring by Hailey Conrad in set one was not enough for the Pioneers in a 25-19 loss. Malone had 12 kills in the set, but an efficient hitting performance by Lake Erie at .240 was enough to help get the job done for the early advantage.
 
Each side had 12 kills in the second period, but still it was the Storm who came away with the victory by the same score of 25-19. Lake Erie was red hot to begin the period and jumped out to an 8-0 lead, but the Pioneers clawed their way back to eventually as close as a three-point gap at 22-19 thanks to a service ace by Madalyn Coblentz. The final three points would go to the Storm to take the commanding lead.
 
Malone would be on the offensive early in set three with a 6-0 run to begin the frame. Marissa Smith paced the team that spread the advantage to ten at 16-6, but the Pioneers needed composure late to seal the deal for the set three win. The Storm got as close as two, but could not swing the momentum in their favor and Malone took the third, 25-22 off a kill by Arianna Buckley. The Pioneers had a game-high .310 hitting percentage in that set with 14 kills.
 
A kill off the fingertips of Jaymes Gilbert helped put Malone up 11-9 in the fourth set, but from there Lake Erie took control. An 11-3 scoring run for the Storm made it 20-14 and the opponents would pull away for the 25-17 victory to clinch the match.
 
The Pioneers struggled to receive serves with a season-high 19 reception errors. Coblentz and Jaclyn Jundzilo were in double figures with 10 digs apiece and Coblentz led the way with four aces. Smith threw down a team-high 12 kills with Kelsey Williams leading the charge in assists with 18.
 
Malone returns to the court on Saturday, September 19 at home against the Walsh University Cavaliers. Homecoming & Family Weekend festivities kick-off with women's soccer at King Field beginning at 12:00 P.M. followed by the men's soccer team at 3:00 P.M. Volleyball wraps up the triple header with a 7:00 P.M. first serve.