The Tri-State FCA 17U Malachi finished fifth in the Gold Division of the 7th Annual Early Bird Extravaganza Volleyball Tournament in Columbus, Ohio, over the Presidents' Day weekend.
Seeded fourth, Malachi went 2-1 in the first day of play, finishing second on their net.
They started Sunday's play by defeating Fredericksburg (Va.) Juniors 25-22, 24-26, 15-10, setting up a rematch with Niagara Frontier (N.Y.), which defeated Malachi in the semifinals of the MLK tournament in Philadelphia. After dropping the first match 18-25, they stormed back to win the final two games, 25-20, 15-11. In the final match of the day, against winless Chicago Ultimate, Malachi fell 17-25, 19-25, losing an early lead when defensive specialist Tina Conner went down with an ankle injury. Despite the loss, Malachi won the net to draw a bye in the Gold Division Playoffs.
On Monday, Malachi fell to VFX (Rochester, N.Y.) 23-25, 21-25, to finish in a tie for fifth place.
