Volleyball Clinches Spot In AMC Tournament With 3-0 Week

     The Malone College volleyball team clinched a berth in the American Mideast Conference Tournament after winning all three of its AMC North Division matches last week.  Malone opened competition on Tuesday night with a 30-19, 30-26, 30-24 AMC North Division victory at Ursuline College. The squad then hosted a tri-match on Saturday with Point Park (PA) University and Daemen (NY) College.  Malone opened the day with a 30-22, 30-20, 31-29 sweep of Point Park and then outlasted Daemen in the afternoon’s finale 30-18, 26-30, 30-20, 27-30, 15-13 (Daemen defeated Point Park 26-30, 30-18, 31-29, 30-22 prior to its match with Malone).  Malone and Point Park had entered the tri-match tied for second in the division standings but, with its pair of victories, Malone improved its AMC North record to 11-3 (21-16 overall) and thus locked up a second-place division finish and the #2 North seed in next weekend’s AMC Tournament (hosted by AMC South champion Mt. Vernon Nazarene University).
     Jennifer Gahagan (Fr., Ravenna Southeast H.S.) paced Malone in the three-game triumph at Ursuline with 13 kills and 21 digs.  Erica Gann (So., Meadowbrook H.S.) followed with eight kills and five blocks (two solo) while Kristen Schoolcraft (So., McKinley H.S.) posted eight kills with four blocks (two solo).  Lori Ickes (Fr., Smithville H.S.) added seven kills, 20 digs, and four service aces and Alyssa Dibell (So., Fairless H.S.) handed out 37 assists and scooped up 14 digs.
     Against Point Park in Saturday’s opener, Gahagan again led the way with 12 kills and 16 digs.  Gann followed with 10 kills and three blocks (all solo), Ickes posted nine kills and 13 digs, while Schoolcraft added seven kills and eight blocks (four solo).  Other important contributors in the three-match win included Dibell with 35 assists and Bethany Thompson (Jr., Tusc. Central Catholic H.S.) with three service aces.
     In the finale with Daemen, Gahagan compiled 15 kills, 21 digs, and three service aces.  Gann notched 13 kills and seven blocks (one solo) while Schoolcraft tallied 12 kills and a season-high nine blocks (four solo).  Ickes crushed 10 kills and scooped up 19 digs in the five-game triumph. In addition, Dibell contributed 40 assists, four blocks (one solo), and 19 digs.
     This week, Malone (21-16, 11-3 AMC North) will participate in the six-team AMC Tournament hosted by NAIA #13 Mount Vernon Nazarene University (35-2, 11-1 AMC South) on Friday and Saturday.  The Pioneers will compete in pool-play matches on Friday afternoon with their opponents and match times still to be determined.  The top two teams in each of the three-team pools will then advance to the semifinals on Saturday.  The winner of the AMC Tournament receives an automatic berth in the NAIA National Tournament in Columbia, Missouri on November 28-December 1.

Football Team Suffers 31-17 Loss To NAIA #5 Saint Francis; Accepts Bid To Play In November 17 NCCAA Victory Bowl Game

     The Malone College football team lost a hard-fought battle with NAIA #5 University of Saint Francis (IN) at home on Saturday afternoon by the final score of 31-17.  With the loss, Malone, ranked #18 coming into last Saturday's game, drops out of the NAIA playoff picture but with one of the top records in the National Christian College Athletic Association, the team has accepted a bid to participate in the NCCAA's Victory Bowl contest on Saturday, November 17th.  Malone (7-3) will take on Geneva (PA) College (7-2) with Geneva earning the right to serve as the host site.  The kickoff is tentatively scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
     The Pioneers held a 7-3 advantage late in the second quarter but were unable to overcome five costly turnovers and the Cougars’ potent rushing attack.  Malone tallied 255 rushing yards and 162 passing yards on the day for 417 total offensive yards.  St. Francis, meanwhile, racked up 336 yards on the ground and 187 yards through the air for a total offensive output of 523 yards.  The Cougars did commit 13 penalties in the contest for 100 yards but they did not turn the ball over.  Malone struggled to take care of the football for the second consecutive week as the squad threw interceptions on three of its five trips into the red zone and twice fumbled the ball away deep inside its own territory.  The loss drops the Pioneers’ overall record to 7-3 on the year (4-2 MSFA Mideast) while Saint Francis improves its overall mark to 8-1 (5-1 MSFA Mideast).
     The Cougars opened the game’s scoring with 19 seconds remaining in the first quarter after attempting and converting their first field goal of the season, a 33-yard kick by Rhys Barnhart.  The score then remained unchanged until the 1:39 mark of the second stanza when wide receiver Derek Deardorff (Jr., Kenton H.S.) snagged a pass from Pioneer quarterback Dominic Liberati (Jr., Union Local H.S.) and sprinted 72 yards to the endzone.  Place kicker Mike Skvor (Jr., Long Beach, CA) tacked on the extra point to put Malone in front 7-3. 
     St. Francis was quickly able to regain the momentum, though, as running back Bart Schnur returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards, setting his team up with a first-and-ten on the Malone 36-yard line.  Fellow running back Daniel Carter then scored from 17 yards out on the second play of the Cougars’ possession to quickly put the visitors back on top at 10-7.  With only 1:14 remaining in the second quarter, the Pioneers got the ball back and quickly drove down the field but the squad’s scoring threat was extinguished as St. Francis linebacker Cody Capps intercepted a Liberati pass attempt at the Cougars’ two-yard line to preserve the three-point halftime lead. 
     St Francis then extended its advantage to 24-7 with two third-quarter touchdown drives of 83 and 99 yards.  Cougar quarterback Jeff Wedding capped the first scoring drive with a 36-yard touchdown pass to wideout Zach Rainey and running back Marcus Rush finished off the second drive with a seven-yard TD run.  Malone cut the deficit to 24-10 at the start of the fourth quarter with a 25-yard Skvor field goal.  The Pioneer defense then forced three-and-outs on each of the Cougars’ next two possessions but a muffed punt return gave the ball right back to St. Francis on Malone’s 16-yard line.  Just three plays later, Carter punched the ball in from two yards out to give the Cougars a commanding 31-10 lead with just over nine minutes remaining in the game.  The Pioneers refused to give up, though, as Liberati scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak to trim the deficit to 31-17 at the 3:05 mark of the fourth quarter.  Malone then successfully recovered an on-side kick attempt and once again marched down the field before St. Francis defensive back Donovan Evans picked off a Liberati pass at the Cougar two-yard line with just over a minute remaining to cement the 14-point Mid-States Football Association Mideast League victory.
     Running back Bernard Payton (Sr., Pomona, CA) posted yet another strong performance in his final regular-season home game as he rushed for 206 yards on 32 carries and set four new Malone rushing records.  The 6’1’, 205 lb. senior has now carried the ball 256 times this year for 1300 yards, breaking the previous single-season marks of 225 rushing attempts and 1165 yards that were each set by running back Joel Peterson in 2001 (attempts) and 2002 (yards).  Also, with 206 yards on Saturday, Payton has now rushed for 100 or more yards in six consecutive games and has gained over 100 yards in eight of the Pioneers’ ten contests.  These two accomplishments, six straight 100-yard games and the total of eight 100-yard performances in a single season, break the previous Malone records of five consecutive 100-yard games (Dan DeGeorge, 1994) and seven total 100-yard performances (Joel Peterson, 2001).
     Liberati connected on nine of 28 pass attempts for 136 yards with one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown and two interceptions.  Quarterback Billy Bob Orsagh (Jr., Eastland, TX), who had been battling an illness throughout the week, started the game and played during the Pioneers’ first two possessions but then left the contest and was unable to return.  Wide receiver Mike Clapham (Sr., Elyria Catholic H.S.) caught four passes for 35 yards, wideout Josh Settlemire (Jr., Howland H.S.) pulled in four receptions for 25 yards, while Deardorff notched two catches for 84 yards and one score.
     Defensively, linebacker Dan Hromada (Sr., Padua Franciscan H.S.) posted a game-high 19 tackles (nine solo, 2.5 TFL, 0.5 sack) followed by fellow linebacker Justin Murphy (Sr., Minerva H.S.), who registered 15 total tackles (six solo, 0.5 TFL, 0.5 sack) and a forced fumble.  Defensive back Dennis Thornton (Jr., Shaker Heights H.S.) added nine stops (four solo) while linebacker Kevin Kapostasy (Sr., Fairport H.S.) and defensive lineman Ronell Lee (So., Collinwood H.S.) each recorded eight tackles.
     On special teams, Tyler Parry (Jr., North Loxahatchee, FL) punted the ball seven times for 294 yards with two kicks downed inside the 20-yard line and a long punt of 52 yards.  In addition, wide receiver Emmitt Williams (Jr., Compton, CA) returned three kickoffs for 64 yards.
     This week, Malone (7-3, 4-2 MSFA Mideast) will conclude its regular-season schedule with a trip to Columbus, Ohio to face NAIA #3 Ohio Dominican University (10-0, 6-0 MSFA Mideast).  The Panthers hold a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools and have won each of the last two meetings.  ODU defeated the Pioneers by a final score of 41-17 in Columbus last season.
     Pioneer Notes: Malone has racked up 4673 total yards of offense this year, breaking the 1998 squad’s previous single-season school record of 4516 yards…Saturday’s loss to St. Francis ended the Pioneers’ seven-game home winning streak.