Box Score

The Malone University volleyball team knocked off NAIA No. 13 Indiana Tech on the road Saturday afternoon in the opening round of the NAIA National Championships. With the 25-22, 23-25, 27-25, 25-22 triumph, the Pioneers improved to 33-7 overall while handing the Warriors (34-6) just their second home loss of the season. Malone, which is making its first-ever appearance in the NAIA Volleyball National Championships, will now move on to compete in the 24-team NAIA National Tournament that will be held Nov. 30-Dec. 4 at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa. Check out the NAIA National Tournament section below for more information on the event's format.

Malone posted 60 kills and a .213 attack percentage in the evenly-contested match. Outside hitter Jennifer Gahagan paced the Pioneer attack with 21 kills. The 5'11” senior also posted 14 digs and two solo blocks. Middle hitter Hannah Haver followed with 14 kills, eight digs and three solo blocks. Outside hitter Lori Gale posted eight kills and a team-high 18 digs. Middle hitter Lauren Townley notched eight kills and two solo blocks. Setter Jackie Schwamberger added 44 assists and 12 digs while right-side hitter Megan Fisher chipped in with seven kills.

Indiana Tech was led by outside hitter Samantha Larson and middle hitter Erika Stouder, who each tallied 13 kills apiece. Outside hitter Ashley Hamilton added 11 kills and 19 digs while right-side hitter Amber Birky notched 10 kills and six total blocks (two solo). The Warriors totaled 54 kills in the match with a .170 attack percentage.

NAIA National Tournament:
Of the 36 teams that qualified for the NAIA Volleyball National Championships, 24 participated in opening-round matches on Saturday at NAIA campuses across the country. The 12 opening-round winners will join the 11 teams that received first-round byes and the host school, Briar Cliff (IA) University, to compete in the NAIA National Tournament, a pool-play event that will be held Nov. 30-Dec. 4 at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa.

The 24-team NAIA National Tournament field will be divided into six pools of four teams. Upon completion of pool play, the top two teams from each pool will advance to a single elimination tournament.  Following all of Saturday's opening-round match-ups, the tournament committee will build pools based on the seeding of remaining teams in a serpentine format.  The opponents and times for Malone's pool-play matches will be posted on www.malonepioneers.com once they are announced.