CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. — The Tusculum men’s volleyball team won its fourth-straight contest via sweep after blanking Thomas More on Friday (Jan. 30) in the first of two meetings this season.
The Pioneers (4-1) continued their record start, sweeping the Saints (0-3) in their home opener by scores of 25-16, 25-15, 25-15.
Dominic Rossi led TMU with nine kills, while Noah Smith-Trondle distributed 17 assists. Braden Hicks tallied the lone service ace for the Saints. Defensively, Blake Kibler scooped up four digs, while three players combined for the blocks: Rossi, Kibler, and Hicks.
Tusculum had 10 players record at least one kill in the match, led by Reef Mathis and Greyson Ervin with six. Morgan Makovec and Adam Svendsen added five, while Donovan Nye was a perfect 4-for-4. Rounding out the offense were Caleb Hammann (3), Aiden Roper (3), Cooper Sadleir (2), Ian Johnson (2), and Riley Wisniakowski (1). The latter dished out 24 assists, as Makovec landed a season-best four aces. Two Pioneers recorded three digs (Svendsen and Patrick Gresham). Both Svendsen and Hammann were credited with three block assists.
Thomas More hit .000 as a team with 20 kills and 20 errors on 68 total attempts. Tusculum hit .373 with 37 kills, 12 errors, and 67 total attacks. The Pioneers led the Saints in assists (36-20), service aces (6-1), digs (20-14), and total blocks (6-2).
Thomas More won the first two points of the match, but a 3-0 run by Tusculum caused the only lead change of the match. The Pioneers landed 12 kills in the frame, led by four from Mathis, while the Saints hit a match-low -.080. After the fifth and final tie at 12-all, TU hit the ground running, finishing the set on a 13-4 stretch.
The second set was a story of runs. Leading 2-1 Tusculum, rattled off five-straight points. Thomas More battled back to a 10-8 deficit before an 11-point rally by the Pioneers, which featured four Makovec aces, including three-straight. The Saints tried to make a late run but a kill by Ervin was the set-clincher.
Both teams saved their best hitting until the final set, with Thomas More averaging .050 to Tusculum’s .560. The Pioneers landed 16 kills, needing only nine remaining scores to win the match: six unforced TMU errors, two TU blocks, and an Ervin ace.
Tusculum will make a short trip to King on Tuesday (Feb. 3) for a 7 p.m. match.
