CANTON, Ohio - The Kentucky Wesleyan College volleyball team lost a 3-1 marathon of a match to Malone University on Friday evening. The Panthers fell in four sets, but not before the Pioneers took the game-winning set 35-33. 

The Pioneers (9-6, 5-2 G-MAC) took the opening set 25-17. Malone looked to take a 2-0 lead in the second set after taking a 15-14 lead. However, the Panthers (9-7, 4-4 G-MAC) had other ideas as Autumn Harris tied the set at 17-17 with a kill that helped propel Wesleyan to a 25-22 win. 

Holding a slight lead in the third set, the Pioneers took control by winning six of seven points, taking a 16-10 lead. The two teams would exchange points over the remainder as Malone took a 2-1 lead after a 25-18 victory. 

The Panthers trailed 16-14 in the fourth set before winning four straight points. Alexa Davis helped fuel the rally with three straight kills. An error by the Pioneers later in the set gave Wesleyan a 23-21 lead, but Malone was able to win the next three points to serve for match point. 

Wesleyan fought off the match point three times before taking a 28-27 lead after Nicole Venema's ace. Back-to-back points returned the lead back to the Pioneers, but the Panthers followed suite with two straight points of their own to take a 30-29 edge. 

A ball handling error gave the Panthers a 33-32 lead, but the Pioneers won the next three points to end the dramatics and win the match. Harris finished the match with 12 kills while Davis added 11. Lydia Jackson dished out 26 assists and recorded 18 digs. Venema collected a team-best 28 digs. 

The Panthers will remain in the Great Canton area on Saturday to play Walsh. The match is scheduled to start at 9 AM CT. 
 

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