ERIE, Pa. - The Malone University volleyball team dropped contests on the final day of the Gannon Invitational. Malone fell to Eckerd College in three sets and Wayne State College in four sets. The Pioneers now have an overall record of 2-5 on the season.
MALONE vs ECKERD RECAP:
The Pioneers fell behind in the first set with a 5-1 scoring run by the Tritons. Malone responded with back-to-back points led by Jaymes Gilbert and Kassidy Gorsuch who each had a kill and made it 5-3. However, Eckerd would later add a 5-0 scoring run to extend the lead to 13-5. Four different Pioneers added kills late in the first set before the Tritons pulled away to win the first set 25-14.
The Tritons began the second set strong and scored nine of the first ten points. After a kill from Gilbert, the Tritons added another 4-0 scoring run to extend the lead to 13-2. Malone responded by scoring four of the next five points with kills from Brianne Salinas and Gorsuch. Eckerd added two separate 4-0 scoring runs and won the second set 25-11.
The third set opened with back-and-fourth action with the score being tied 2-2 after a kill from Gilbert. Both teams traded 3-0 runs later in the set and Eckerd took a 9-8 lead. The Tritons added two 3-0 scoring runs and pulled away winning the third set 25-18.
Salinas had a team-high five kills with zero attack errors to lead Malone. Marissa Smith and Gilbert finished second on the team with five kills each.The Tritons held the kill advantage 41-20 and the total hitting percentage advantage .398 to .070. Kelsey Williams had a team-high six digs and Helaina Edgar had five digs to finish second on the team.
MALONE vs WAYNE STATE RECAP:
Malone fell behind early in set one after Wayne State scored three of the first four opportunities. The Pioneers bounced back with a 6-0 scoring run with kills from Smith and Gorsuch to take a 7-3 lead. Wayne State responded with a 4-1 run and made it 8-7 still in favor of Malone. After another 4-0 run for the Pioneers, with a kill from Salinas, Malone extended the lead to 12-7. Later in the set, the Warriors added a 5-0 scoring run and cut into the lead, making it 18-16. After more back-and-forth, Salinas added a late kill and secured the 25-22 win in set one for Malone.
The Warriors opened set two by scoring five consecutive points to take the early advantage. Smith and Gorsuch added kills and cut into the lead making it 6-2 later in the set. Wayne State added a 6-0 run to extend the lead to 12-2. The Pioneers got kills from Meryn Stacy and Gilbert and cut into the Warrior lead and made it 17-7. However the Warriors would score three of the final points in the set to win 25-15.
Malone fell behind early in set three with Wayne State going on a 6-2 scoring run early. The Warriors found another scoring run later in the set by scoring seven points on the next eleven opportunities to take a 14-6 lead. Wayne State ended the third set by scoring five of the last seven points to win set three 25-13. Set four was more of the same with Wayne State scoring seven of the first eight points. Both squads traded points later in the set and the Warriors took the lead 15-9 after a 3-1 scoring run. Wayne State pulled away late in set four to win 25-16.
Salinas led the team with 11 kills in the match. She also added one solo block and one block for a total of 12.5 points for Malone. Gorsuch and Smith added seven kills each for the Pioneers. Ella Kresak had a team-high 14 digs and Edgar added 11 digs in the contest.
UP NEXT:
Malone will open up Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play at home against Lake Erie College on Friday, September 11 at 7 P.M. in Osborne Hall.
