PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie women's volleyball team competed against the Malone Pioneers for their throwback night, honoring Lake Erie College's original mascot: the Unicorns. The Unicorns dropped three sets to Malone in a close match, bringing their record to 2-11. The Pioneers rise to a 6-8 record. 

The Pioneers started off the set with a kill. The Unicorns answered with their first kill of the night from junior Schylar Shepherd. The Pioneers grew a 5-1 lead, ended by senior Jordan Taylor recording a kill. The Pioneers continued to grow there lead to 10-4. Senior Kariema Rodriguez-Diaz, senior Maria Blatnik, and senior Dora Olah put away some kills for the Unicorns to bring the score to a close 14-12, Pioneers up by two. Olah, Rodriguez-Diaz, and Taylor put down a few more kills, but errors from the Unicorns along with Pioneer kills gave  Malone the first set, 25-18. 

Olah and Rodriguez-Diaz started off the second set with a pair of kills for the Unicorns. The Pioneers responded with a short run to give them a 8-3 lead. Taylor tallied another kill, and some Pioneer errors brought the score to 8-6, Pioneers. Malone went on another run to give them a 13-6 lead. Blatnik recorded another kill, but the Pioneers continued to pull ahead. Sophomore Simone Schurr snuck in a kill at 18-11, Pioneers. Freshman Jessica Ickes recored a pair of kills to try and bring the Unicorns back, but the Pioneers took the second set 25-16 after strong offense and Unicorn errors. 

Olah and Blatnik had early kills in the third set, before the Pioneers grew a short 6-4 lead. The Unicorns tied it up at 6-6, before the Pioneers pulled ahead to 9-6. More Pioneer kills and Unicorn errors gave the Pioneers a 15-10 lead going into the end of the set. The Unicorns continued to battle, bringing the score to a close 18-16, Pioneers up by two. A pair of Unicorn kills and some Pioneer errors gave the Unicorns some hope, but the Pioneers finished out the set 25-21 after several kills. 

Schurr and sophomore setter Sarah Leyden finished the match with 16 assists each. Blatnik put down ten kills, followed by Olah with eight. Sophomore libero Brooklyn Broadway led the Unicorns in digs, picking up 15 for the match. 

The Unicorns return to their current mascot, the Storm, at home on Saturday, September 24th at 12:30 PM to take on the Walsh Cavaliers.