November 10, 2007

Malone Claims Runner-Up Finish At AMC/NAIA Region IX Tournament

 
The Malone College volleyball team advanced to the championship match of the American Mideast Conference/NAIA Region IX Tournament over the weekend where they dropped a hard-fought contest to tournament host Mount Vernon Nazarene University by the final scores of 31-33, 20-30, 30-26, 26-30.  With the victory, the Cougars captured their first region title and received an automatic berth in the upcoming NAIA National Tournament.  The Pioneers, meanwhile, concluded their solid season with a 23-18 overall record (11-3 AMC North).
    
Malone had split its pool play contests on Friday afternoon to advance to Saturday’s semifinal round as the squad defeated Point Park (PA) University 30-14, 26-30, 26-30, 30-25, 15-8 before falling to the Mount Vernon Nazarene 23-30, 26-30, 28-30.  With the top two records from their three-team pool, Malone and MVNU each earned spots in Saturday’s semifinal (Point Park was eliminated).  The Pioneers then knocked off Cedarville University 30-23, 30-18, 26-30, 30-28 to advance to Saturday evening’s final round where they once again faced off with the Cougars, losing by the three games to one margin (Mount Vernon Nazarene, ranked 13th in the most recent NAIA national poll, had defeated Walsh University in Saturday’s other semifinal contest).  In addition to their meetings on Friday and Saturday, MVNU and Malone had faced off on three different occasions during the 2007 regular season with the Cougars coming out on top in each of those previous matches.
    
Against Point Park on Friday, Jennifer Gahagan (Fr., Ravenna Southeast H.S.) hammered a season-high 21 kills in addition to scooping up 13 digs and registering six blocks (two solo).  Erica Gann (So., Meadowbrook H.S.) added 15 kills and seven blocks (three solo), Lori Ickes (Fr., Smithville H.S.) posted nine kills and 14 digs, while Kristen Schoolcraft (So., McKinley H.S.) tallied seven kills and ten blocks (five solo).  Other important contributors in the five-game triumph included Emily Beiting (Fr., Fort Thomas, KY) with six kills, 13 digs, and two service aces and Alyssa Dibell (So., Fairless H.S.) with 51 assists.
    
In Friday’s pool play match with Mount Vernon Nazarene, Ickes, Gahagan, and Gann each shared the team lead in kills with nine apiece.  Ickes also recorded 13 digs and two service aces, Gahagan notched 11 digs, and Gann registered six blocks (one solo).  Beiting added three aces, four kills and seven digs.
    
Against Cedarville in Saturday’s semifinal, Gahagan again led the way with 19 kills, 20 digs and five blocks.  Ickes tallied 14 kills and a team-high 24 digs, Beiting posted ten kills and 12 digs, while Schoolcraft drilled nine kills with nine blocks (three solo).  Dibell added 47 assists and 14 digs in the victory.
    
In the championship contest with Mount Vernon Nazarene, Gahagan ripped 17 kills with 13 digs and six blocks (one solo).  Gann followed with 12 kills and six blocks (one solo) while Ickes and Schoolcraft each registered nine kills.  Ickes also recorded 19 digs while Schoolcraft notched seven blocks (two solo).  Bethany Thompson (Jr., Tuscarawas Central Catholic H.S.) dished out 23 assists with two services aces and Beiting totaled five kills, four blocks and nine digs in the four-game defeat.
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