The Malone University volleyball team wrapped its regular-season schedule on Thursday evening in Columbus, Ohio with a come-from-behind, five-set victory over Ohio Dominican University.  The Panthers, who are currently in transition to becoming members of NCAA Division II, looked to be in control of the non-conference match after taking the first two sets of the night by scores of 25-21 and 25-23.  However, the Pioneers rallied to take the third and fourth sets by identical scores of 26-24 and then went on to claim the match three sets to two after claiming the decisive fifth frame by a final score of 15-10.  Malone’s record improved to 28-8 with the comeback win while ODU dropped to 21-16.

Junior outside hitter Jennifer Gahagan (pictured to the right, Ravenna Southeast H.S.) ripped a career-high 23 kills to go with two service aces and 17 digs.  Junior outside hitter Lori Ickes (Smithville H.S.) followed with 16 kills and 23 digs while senior middle hitter Kristen Schoolcraft (McKinley H.S.) posted a season-high 14 kills with nine digs and six blocks (four solo).  Senior libero Julie Finley (pictured below right, Western Reserve H.S.) and freshman setter Jackie Schwamberger (Madison Comprehensive H.S.) also tallied career-high statistical totals in the match as Finley registered 29 digs while Schwamberger notched 57 assists and 24 digs.

Although the Pioneers narrowly missed out on qualifying for the American Mideast Conference Tournament, the squad will likely receive an at-large bid to compete in the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) National Championships which will be held December 3-5 in Kissimmee, Florida.

Malone Notes:  2009 marked the 12th time in program history and the sixth time under head coach Tanya Hockman that Malone has posted 25 or more victories…Schoolcraft now ranks second on the Pioneers’ all-time list for total blocks with 546…The Pioneers won 10 of their final 12 regular-season matches.

The Malone University volleyball team registered a 3-1 non-conference victory on Tuesday night at Osborne Hall over NCAA Division III Geneva (PA) College.  The Pioneers took the first two sets of the evening by final scores of 25-23 and 25-22.  The visiting Golden Tornadoes claimed the third set 25-22 before Malone wrapped up the match with a 25-21 triumph in set number four.  Malone improved its overall record to 27-8 with the Senior Night win while Geneva dropped to 19-11 on the season.  Unfortunately, despite the victory, the Pioneers were eliminated from AMC Tournament contention due to Tuesday’s American Mideast Conference wins by Cedarville University and Point Park University (See Postseason Picture Below).

Junior outside hitter Jennifer Gahagan (Ravenna Southeast H.S.) paced the Pioneers with 12 kills, two service aces and 17 digs.  Junior outside hitter Lori Ickes (Smithville H.S.) and senior middle hitter Kristen Schoolcraft (McKinley H.S.) each followed with 11 kills apiece.  In addition to their kill totals, Ickes also registered three service aces, 14 digs and three blocks (two solo) while Schoolcraft tallied four blocks (two solo).  Senior middle hitter Erica Gann (Meadowbrook H.S.) chipped in with 10 kills with two solo blocks.  Also making significant contributions in their final home match were senior setter Alyssa Dibell (Fairless H.S.) and senior libero Julie Finley (Western Reserve H.S.) as Dibell notched 25 assists and 16 digs while Finley scooped up 11 digs.

The Pioneers will wrap up their regular-season schedule on the road Thursday night with a 7:00 p.m. non-conference match against former AMC member Ohio Dominican University (21-15 overall).  A free live video stream of Thursday’s match will be available through Ohio Dominican’s website.  Click here for a link to the video stream.

Postseason Picture: The AMC receives two automatic bids to the NAIA National Tournament.  The first bid will be awarded to the conference’s regular-season champion and the second bid will go to the winner of the five-team AMC Postseason Tournament which will consist of finishers two through six in the final regular-season standings.  The single-elimination event will be hosted November 13-14 by the regular-season’s second-place finisher.

The Pioneers, who wrapped up the conference portion of their schedule over the weekend, have an AMC record of 7-5 and are currently in seventh place in the standings, percentage points behind sixth-place Point Park (PA) University at 7-4.  Although Point Park has one conference match remaining (Saturday on the road at Roberts Wesleyan College), PPU holds the tiebreaker over Malone and has therefore clinched the sixth and final AMC postseason spot because it defeated Malone in the only regular-season meeting between the two schools.

Despite having been eliminated from AMC playoff contention, the Pioneers could still possibly participate in the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) postseason.  Malone was ranked second in the nation in the most recent NCCAA rankings and could potentially receive a bid to take part in the NCCAA National Tournament which will be held December 3-5 in Kissimmee, Florida.

The Malone University volleyball team kept its American Mideast Conference Tournament hopes alive on Saturday with a pair of important AMC victories in its home tri-match with Cedarville University and Carlow (PA) University.  The Pioneers opened the day with a 25-21, 25-21, 21-25, 25-19 triumph over the Yellow Jackets and then wrapped up the afternoon with a convincing 25-19, 25-14, 25-15 victory against the Celtics.  In the day’s neutral match, Cedarville topped Carlow in three sets by final scores of 26-24, 25-16, and 25-21.  With the pair of wins, Malone improved its record to 26-8 overall and 7-5 in the AMC.  The Pioneers have now concluded the conference portion of their regular-season schedule and will have to await the outcome of several of this week’s other AMC matches to see if they will qualify for the AMC Postseason Tournament (see Postseason Picture below).

Against Cedarville, junior outside hitter Jennifer Gahagan (Ravenna Southeast H.S.) ripped a match-high 15 kills to go with one service ace, nine digs and four blocks (three solo).  Senior middle hitter Kristen Schoolcraft (McKinley H.S.) followed with 12 kills and six blocks (five solo) while junior outside hitter Lori Ickes (Smithville H.S.) totaled 11 kills, one service ace, 15 digs and two solo blocks.  Other contributors included junior right side hitter Emily Beiting (Ft. Thomas, KY) with nine kills, one service ace, and 11 digs and freshman setter Jackie Schwamberger (Madison Comprehensive H.S.) with 43 assists and 18 digs.

In Saturday’s finale against Carlow, Gahagan again led the way with nine kills and 10 digs.  Senior middle hitter Erica Gann (Meadowbrook H.S.) and sophomore right side hitter Megan Fisher (Perry H.S.) each followed with seven kills apiece.  In addition to her kill total, Fisher also served up three service aces.  Ickes added six kills while Schwamberger dished up 18 assists and scooped up nine digs.

The Pioneers will wrap up their regular-season schedule this week with two non-conference matches.  On Tuesday, the squad will host NCAA Division III Geneva (PA) College (19-10 overall) at 6:00 p.m. before travelling to Columbus, Ohio on Thursday night for a 7:00 p.m. match with NCAA Division II Ohio Dominican University ( 19-13 overall).

Postseason Picture: The AMC receives two automatic bids to the NAIA National Tournament.  The first bid will be awarded to the conference’s regular-season champion and the second bid will go to the winner of the five-team AMC Postseason Tournament which will consist of finishers two through six in the final regular-season standings.  The single-elimination event will be hosted November 13-14 by the regular-season’s second-place finisher.

With a 7-5 conference record, the Pioneers are currently in seventh place in the standings, percentage points behind fifth-place Cedarville at 7-4 and sixth-place Point Park (PA) University at 6-4.  The Yellow Jackets have one AMC match remaining (Tuesday at home vs. the University of Northwestern Ohio) while Point Park has two conference matches remaining (Tuesday at home vs. Ursuline College and Saturday on the road at Roberts Wesleyan College). 

Malone, which does not have any conference matches remaining on its schedule, would move into one of the top six spots and therefore qualify for the AMC Tournament if Point Park lost both of its remaining matches OR if Cedarville lost to UNOH.  Due to its win over Cedarville and loss to Point Park during the regular season, Malone holds a tiebreaker over the Yellow Jackets but would lose the tiebreaker to Point Park.

The Malone University volleyball team kept its American Mideast Conference Tournament hopes alive on Saturday with a pair of important AMC victories in its home tri-match with Cedarville University and Carlow (PA) University.  The Pioneers opened the day with a 25-21, 25-21, 21-25, 25-19 triumph over the Yellow Jackets and then wrapped up the afternoon with a convincing 25-19, 25-14, 25-15 victory against the Celtics.  In the day’s neutral match, Cedarville topped Carlow in three sets by final scores of 26-24, 25-16, and 25-21.  With the pair of wins, Malone improved its record to 26-8 overall and 7-5 in the AMC.  The Pioneers have now concluded the conference portion of their regular-season schedule and will have to await the outcome of several of this week’s other AMC matches to see if they will qualify for the AMC Postseason Tournament (see Postseason Picture below).

Against Cedarville, junior outside hitter Jennifer Gahagan (Ravenna Southeast H.S.) ripped a match-high 15 kills to go with one service ace, nine digs and four blocks (three solo).  Senior middle hitter Kristen Schoolcraft (McKinley H.S.) followed with 12 kills and six blocks (five solo) while junior outside hitter Lori Ickes (Smithville H.S.) totaled 11 kills, one service ace, 15 digs and two solo blocks.  Other contributors included junior right side hitter Emily Beiting (Ft. Thomas, KY) with nine kills, one service ace, and 11 digs and freshman setter Jackie Schwamberger (Madison Comprehensive H.S.) with 43 assists and 18 digs.

In Saturday’s finale against Carlow, Gahagan again led the way with nine kills and 10 digs.  Senior middle hitter Erica Gann (Meadowbrook H.S.) and sophomore right side hitter Megan Fisher (Perry H.S.) each followed with seven kills apiece.  In addition to her kill total, Fisher also served up three service aces.  Ickes added six kills while Schwamberger dished up 18 assists and scooped up nine digs.

The Pioneers will wrap up their regular-season schedule this week with two non-conference matches.  On Tuesday, the squad will host NCAA Division III Geneva (PA) College (19-10 overall) at 6:00 p.m. before travelling to Columbus, Ohio on Thursday night for a 7:00 p.m. match with NCAA Division II Ohio Dominican University ( 19-13 overall).

Postseason Picture: The AMC receives two automatic bids to the NAIA National Tournament.  The first bid will be awarded to the conference’s regular-season champion and the second bid will go to the winner of the five-team AMC Postseason Tournament which will consist of finishers two through six in the final regular-season standings.  The single-elimination event will be hosted November 13-14 by the regular-season’s second-place finisher.

With a 7-5 conference record, the Pioneers are currently in seventh place in the standings, percentage points behind fifth-place Cedarville at 7-4 and sixth-place Point Park (PA) University at 6-4.  The Yellow Jackets have one AMC match remaining (Tuesday at home vs. the University of Northwestern Ohio) while Point Park has two conference matches remaining (Tuesday at home vs. Ursuline College and Saturday on the road at Roberts Wesleyan College). 

Malone, which does not have any conference matches remaining on its schedule, would move into one of the top six spots and therefore qualify for the AMC Tournament if Point Park lost both of its remaining matches OR if Cedarville lost to UNOH.  Due to its win over Cedarville and loss to Point Park during the regular season, Malone holds a tiebreaker over the Yellow Jackets but would lose the tiebreaker to Point Park.

The Malone University volleyball team overcame a two sets to one deficit on Monday evening to record a 3-2 victory at Urbana University.  The Pioneers took the opening frame of the match 25-17 before the Blue Knights, who are currently transitioning to membership in NCAA Division II, claimed the next two sets by scores of 28-26 and 25-21.  However, Malone was able to even the match by winning the fourth set 25-11 and then went on to notch the victory after taking the fifth and final set by a score of 15-11.  The non-conference win pushed the Pioneers’ overall record to 24-8 on the year while Urbana slipped to 13-18.

Junior outside hitters Lori Ickes (pictured left, Smithville H.S.) and Jennifer Gahagan (Ravenna Southeast H.S.) keyed the Malone attack on Monday as Ickes posted 15 kills and 25 digs while Gahagan drilled 14 kills, served three aces and scooped up 14 digs.  Senior middle hitter Erica Gann (Meadowbrook H.S.) followed with 10 kills and three blocks (two solo) while fellow middle hitter Kristen Schoolcraft (Sr., McKinley H.S.) totaled eight kills and four solo blocks.  Also making significant contributions in the match was junior right side hitter Emily Beiting (Ft. Thomas, KY), who added seven kills, two service aces and 14 digs, freshman setter Jackie Schwamberger (Madison Comprehensive H.S.), who tallied 32 assists, two service aces and eight digs, and senior libero Julie Finley (Western Reserve H.S.), who registered 23 digs.

Malone (24-8 overall, 5-5 AMC) will now be idle until Saturday when it hosts an important American Mideast Conference tri-match against Cedarville University (11-19 overall, 5-3 AMC) and Carlow (PA) University (10-20 overall, 0-10 AMC).  The Pioneers will take on the Yellow Jackets at 11:00 a.m. before facing the Celtics at 3:00 p.m.  (Cedarville and Carlow will square off in a 1:00 p.m. match).

Postseason Picture: The AMC receives two automatic bids to the NAIA National Tournament.  The first bid will be awarded to the conference’s regular-season champion and the second bid will go to the winner of the five-team AMC Postseason Tournament which will consist of finishers two through six in the final regular-season standings.  The single-elimination event will be hosted November 13-14 by the regular-season’s second-place finisher.

With a 5-5 conference record, the Pioneers are currently tied for seventh place in the standings with Daemen (NY) College, who holds an AMC record of 4-4.  Depending on the results of other AMC matches, Malone will likely need to win both of its remaining conference contests on Saturday in order to qualify for the AMC Postseason Tournament.