DALLAS, N.C. — The Tusculum University women’s beach volleyball team advanced to the first-ever South Atlantic Conference Carolinas championship and came up just short in the title match. The pairs of Hannah Marsh/Brynn Smith and Kyla Oppenhuis/Landry Tea were named to the All-Tournament Team for TU.
Tusculum (11-13) finds out its seeding and schedule on Monday (Apr. 14) for next weekend’s (Apr. 17-19) American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Small College Beach Championship.
Match 1: Tusculum 4, Erskine 1
The Pioneers beat the Flying Fleet for the third time this season, and second time in a week’s span, in the semifinal match.
Hannah Marsh and Brynn Smith dominated at the top flight 21-2, 21-15. Morgan Willis and Ryann Gallagher held on for a 21-7, 22-20 victory at No. 3. Kyla Oppenhuis and Landry Tea won by identical 21-14, 21-14 scores at the fourth flight. At No. 5, Nyah Goss and Katie Murphy claimed a 21-16, 21-15 decision. The lone point for the Fleet came at the No. 2 slot as Mia Johnson and Kassidy Mercado fell 21-11, 21-15 for TU.
Match 2: Carson-Newman 3, Tusculum 2
The championship match between the rivals lived up to its billing, coming down to a third-set overtime in the final flight. The Eagles scored the first two points of the match behind wins at the second and third flights. For Tusculum, Johnson and Mercado fell 21-10, 21-12 at No. 2, while Willis and Gallagher dropped a 21-15, 21-11 decision at No. 3. Marsh and Smith pulled off a reverse sweep at the top flight for the first TU point, winning 10-21, 21-11, 15-11. Oppenhuis and Tea survived the comeback from the C-N No. 4 pair by scores of 21-16, 18-21, 15-13.
At No. 5, Goss and Murphy won the first set 21-18 before falling 19-21 to send the clinching point to a decisive third set. The Tusculum pair had an early lead as Carson-Newman rallied to win in overtime, 16-14.
2025 South Atlantic Conference Carolinas All-Tournament Team
Hannah Marsh / Brynn Smith, Tusculum
Kyla Oppenhuis / Landry Tea, Tusculum
Ava Fountain / Emerson Ahsmuhs, Carson-Newman
Kat Nelson / Addie Smith, Carson-Newman
Trinity Hafey / Kylee Oldenburger, Carson-Newman (MVP)
