TIFFIN, Ohio - Junior Jordan Jenkins had a career-high 33 digs as the Tiffin University volleyball team (4-3, 0-1 GLIAC) lost a close one, 3-2 (25-17, 13-25, 23-25, 31-29, 15-10) to Malone (4-2, 1-0 GLIAC), Thursday night at the Gillmor Center.
In the opening set, Malone raced out to an early 14-7 lead. Tiffin closed to three, 17-14 before the Pioneers shut the door with an 8-3 run.
In the second set, the Dragons took the early lead at 11-8. A kill from Anna Hayes and a TU error closed the gap to 11-10. Tiffin then raced past MU 14-3 to tie the match at 1-1.
The third set saw runs galore. Following an error, Malone had an 11-7 lead. TU came storming back with four straight points to make it 11-11.
After trading points until 14-14, Kimberly McCracken stepped up. She had two aces among three straight points to put the Pioneers up 17-14. Tiffin then rolled out five straight points to lead 19-17. It was back and forth until MU hit the net on a serve at 24-23 to end it.
The fourth set was all Dragons early on. Junior Danielle McQuade crushed the ball off the head of the blocker. That made it 19-12, TU. Malone stormed the beaches with an 8-1 run. A Tiffin error tied the match at 20-20.
The Dragons forced an error to make it 24-22. TU then failed to close out the match, squandering six match points after the Pioneers came back to tie it at 24-24 and then traded points until 29-29. Kills from Diana Wallace and Taylor Slauterbeck forced a fifth game.
In the fifth set, the Pioneers controlled the tempo with a 10-6 run. Following a timeout, junior Brooke Friesen had two blocks among three points. That made it 10-9, MU. That was as close as TU could get.
McQuade had 21 kills and 18 digs and hit .378 while junior Maureen Kurtz tallied 19 kills with a .567 hitting percentage. Sophomore Tiffany Buchinger had a career-high 57 assists.
For Malone, Slauterbeck had 14 kills and Lauren Townley came through with 13. Jackie Schwamberger had 53 assists while Allison Kirby had 20 digs.
Tiffin remains home, Friday, Sept. 14 against Walsh. The match is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. Live stats will be available at http://livestats.prestosports.com/tiffin/
-TIFFIN UNIVERSITY-
