G-MAC Championship Bracket (PDF)
MASON, Ohio - No. 3 Ursuline and No. 2 Malone both advanced into Friday's semifinal round of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship that began Thursday night in Mason Arena.
The Arrows brought down defending tournament champ/NCAA qualifier No. 2 seed Trevecca Nazarene in the first quarterfinal, 3-1.
The Pioneers edged out No. 3 seed Kentucky Wesleyan in a thrilling five-set finish, 3-2.
Both stages for the semifinals are now set with Ursuline going up against No. 1 seed Davis & Elkins at 5 p.m. EST while Malone tangles with No. 1 seed Cedarville at 7:30 p.m. EST.
The winners will meet in Saturday's championship match with an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional at stake.
Moments That Mattered
Ursuline was able to beat Trevecca Nazarene the way the Trojans carved their path to the championship last year - with strength up front.
The Arrows just matched up better against the Trojans' formidable front line, starting with seniors Emily Adkinson and Makayla Windau doing plenty of damage. Windau led all players with 20 kills while Adkinson and Victoria Henderson each had 14.
Adkinson, a first-team all-conference selection, was getting a long-awaited taste of the postseason again after missing most of last year with a season-ending knee injury.
Ursuline methodically worked around the block and had plenty of stops of their own, including six blocks by Jill Morrow and some timely rejections from Angela Zamora. Ursuline recorded 11 total blocks despite 19 kills from TNU's outstanding senior Katelyn Atkinson, who finishes her career second in kills in conference history.
The Trojans and Arrows absolutely slugged this one out in the first two sets, with no more than a five-point margin separating the two teams.
Malone also used the block up front to eventually gain momentum on the last leg of a marathon match as the Panthers of KWC gave the Pioneers all they could handle in a see-saw contest.
The Pioneers racked up 19 blocks as a team and the fifth frame was marked by numerous stoppages up front that changed Malone's fortunes after falling behind 3-0. Haley Kool, Hannah Meckstroth and Adams, all joined the block party at key moments to help close this one.
Kentucky Wesleyan's Elizabeth Gober led all players with 15 kills while Malone's Veronica Gehring answered the call from the outside with a dozen kills to lead the Pioneers.
Establishing Rare Company
Malone sophomore outside/middle Mallory Adams has blown up the box scores as of late, giving everyone a glimpse of her immensely bright future.
To put this in perspective of how rare the feat Adams has been able to accomplish once and almost twice, triple doubles in volleyball are a stat that isn't kept track of by the NCAA at the national level.
After Adams most likely recorded the first triple double in conference history against Alderson Broaddus to earn G-MAC Athlete of the Week, Adams almost did it again as the Pioneers willed themselves to victory late
Adams had seven kills, nine digs and 10 blocks, against KWC to flirt with the single-game superlative for the second time in as many weeks.