TIFFIN, Ohio - After the Dragons won in five last month in Canton, the Pioneers returned the favor Tuesday night. Tiffin (10-10) won the first set by 12 points, but Malone (26-5) rallied for the 12-25, 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 15-9 victory at the Gillmor Center.

For the match, Tiffin outhit Malone .219 to .174 and out-blocked the Pioneers 10-6, but the visitors hit .405 in the third and .538 in the fifth for important set wins. Brooke Bernabei led the Dragons with a double-double with 14 digs and 10 kills. Giavanna DiPietro added 13 kills while Jessica Adams contributed 44 assists. Lindsay Heller had a game-high 23 digs while Brittany Teaford added 11 kills and six blocks.

Malone was led by Jennifer Gahagan with a double-double with 21 kills and 11 digs. Hannah Haver added 11 kills and 11 digs. Jackie Schwamberger added 37 assists and 10 digs. Lauren Townley contributed 16 kills.

Tiffin came out on fire in the first set, winning by 12 points. With the Dragons leading 11-6, Jessica Adams recorded a service run that put Tiffin up 15. After a Danielle McQuade kill, three straight attack errors led to a Malone timeout. The stoppage did not deter the Dragons, who scored six more points on a pair of DiPietro kills and a McQuade spike with three Malone attack errors. The Pioneers scored a pair at the end of the set to cut the lead to 24-12, but a Bernabei kill ended the frame.

In the second, Malone would rally to tie the match. Tiffin held an 18-16 advantage, but a pair of Townley kills and a Dragon attack error gave the Pioneers a 19-18 lead. DiPietro tied the match with a kill, but a Townley kill and a TU bad set by Adams gave Malone the 21-19 cushion. The teams traded the next four points before a block by Gahagan and Haver put Malone on set point. A Bernabei-Teaford block brought Tiffin within one, but a Gahagan kill tied the match at one set apiece.

The third was tied at 12, but Malone won six of the next eight points to go up 18-14. A Tiffin block and kill brought the Dragons within two, but TU could not get any closer and Malone took a 2-1 lead with a 25-20 set win.

In the fourth, Tiffin held on to a narrow lead that held up when the two teams were trading sideouts at the end of the set. With Tiffin on set point at 24-22, Townley recorded a kill to deny the first set point for TU. However, Tiffin converted the next set point on a DiPietro kill.

In the fifth, Tiffin errors helped Malone capture the set by six and the match win. Tied at six, a service error by the Dragons and a kill by the Pioneers gave Malone a two-point lead as the teams switched sides. A pair of attack errors gave Malone the 10-6 advantage. Tiffin could not climb within three the rest of the set as Malone won the deciding frame by six.

Tiffin returns to action Friday (Oct. 22) when it travels to Wayne State. First serve with the Warriors is set for 7 p.m.