JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Tusculum University women’s volleyball team opened up South Atlantic Conference (SAC) play with a four-set loss at Carson-Newman on Tuesday (Sept. 1).
Carson-Newman (5-0, 1-0 SAC) was led by three double-digit kills performances by Emerson Ahsmuhs (15), Annie Dziczkowski (13), and Maddie Hurst (11). Blair Cherry dished out 48 assists and was one of two Eagles to land a pair of service aces, joined by Dziczkowski. The duo rounded out their double-doubles with 13 and 10 digs, respectively. At the net, Bella Cardello was credited with six total blocks.
Grace VanZwieten headed up the Tusculum (3-2, 0-1 SAC) attack, finishing with nine kills, followed by Karris Oller, Gracie Hibdon, and Addison McLarty, all with seven kills. Adreana Lee (3), Mackenzie Land, Jaida Alvin (1), and Grayson LaFrance (1) rounded out the scoring. Victoria Church and Hibdon combined for 29 assists with 16 and 13, respectively. Alvin led the way with two service aces. Defensively, Mary Katherine Hall claimed a match-high 16 digs, while both Oller and Hibdon tallied three block assists.
Carson-Newman finished the match with a .326 hitting percentage with 57 kills and 15 attack errors in 129 total attempts. Tusculum totaled 36 kills, 24 errors, and 119 swings for a .101 hitting clip. The Eagles led the Pioneers in assists (55-34), service aces (8-7), digs (51-46), and total blocks (10-5).
The Black and Orange remains in-state to face Lincoln Memorial on Saturday (Sept. 5) in Harrogate at 2 p.m.
