GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — The Tusculum University women’s volleyball team split the final day of the Pioneer Classic, falling to Lee before surviving Edinboro on Saturday (Sept. 6) afternoon.
The Black and Orange (2-2) breaks open its South Atlantic Conference schedule on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at Lincoln Memorial. First serve between the nearby foes is posted as 6 p.m.
Match 1: Lee 3, Tusculum 0
The Pioneers started off the third day of the tournament with a straight-set loss to the Flames (3-0) by scores of 25-16, 25-14, 25-23.
Jasmine Terry tallied nine kills, while Jordyn Butler went an errorless 7-for-11 on her attempts to spur Lee’s victory. Madison Dahl and Sydney Sharpe combined for 21 assists with 11 and 10, respectively. Both Naomi Hockless and Berra Soyler landed a trio of service aces. Libero Izzy Denton finished with a match-best 11 digs, while four Flames were credited with two total blocks: Butler, Esthefany Rabit, Terry, and Olivia Reevey.
Both Jordyn Roderick and Breana Pelbath registered eight kills across the three sets, with the latter firing on a .353 hitting percentage. Jaida Alvin (5), Mackenzie Land (4), Karris Oller (3), Addison McLarty (3), Victoria Church (1), Adreana Lee (1), and Eliza Jewell Oliverius (1). Church led the setting duo with 16 assists, just ahead of Solene Roussel‘s 15. Libero Taylor Sanders scooped up nine digs, one more than Land. At the net, Oller and McLarty combined for the lone Pioneer rejection.
Lee finished the match with a .301 hitting percentage with 36 kills and 11 attack errors in 83 total attempts. Tusculum totaled 34 kills, 18 errors, and 92 swings for a .174 hitting clip. The Flames led the Pioneers in assists (33-32), service aces (12-2), and total blocks (6-1), while the teams tied with 32 digs.
Match 2: Tusculum 3, Edinboro 2
TU finished out the day with a five-set win over the Edinboro Fighting Scots (1-3): 25-22, 25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 15-10.
Makayla Neelands notched tournament-best 25 kills, while Reilly Parent and Emma Hiott both totaled 12 kills. Laney Burns (25) and Grace Petro (23) combined for 48 assists as the setters. Burns also landed three aces. Parent scooped up 22 digs, with Neelands recording 15. Josephine Bailey was tagged with six total blocks (four solo, two assists).
Alvin (15) and Roderick (12) combined for 27 kills to head up the TU attack. Land tallied nine kills, followed by Pelbath (8), Oller (5), and McLarty (5) accounted for the scoring. Church was credited with a career-best 31 assists, joined by Roussel’s 14. Sanders registered a collegiate-high 22 digs, aided in double figures by Roussel (11), Land (10), and Alvin (10). At the net, Pelbath rejected a career-high five attempts (one solo, four assists).
Edinboro finished the contest with a .178 hitting percentage with 59 kills and 29 attack errors in 169 total attempts. Tusculum totaled 54 kills, 23 errors, and 158 swings for a .196 hitting clip. The Pioneers led the match in aces (12-9), digs (68-66), and total blocks (9-6), while the Fighting Scots tallied more assists (54-51).
Tusculum took the first two sets by identical scores of 25-22, but the frames combined for 19 ties and four lead changes. The Pioneers had a late four-point advantage in the first set (18-14), while the Fighting Scots rallied for a 22-all tie. A kill by Alvin broke the stalemate, followed by a Roussel ace. An attack error by the visitors clinched the early match lead.
The second frame was similar, an early edge (15-10) before a 19-19 squaring in the late stages. Land broke the set open with consecutive attack errors by Edinboro. They came back within one score (22-21), but Land and Roderick provided the needed separation.
Edinboro extended the contest by winning the next two frames, withstanding four blocks and six aces by the Pioneers. Tusculum shot out to a 6-0 lead but could not hang on, being surpassed at 13-12. TU regained the advantage several times, but the Fighting Scots made good on the 21-20 edge.
Meanwhile, Tusculum never led in the fourth frame, only managing eight ties. At 23-all, Edinboro put back-to-back points together to send the match to a decisive fifth set.
TU won the match courtesy of nine kills on a .471 clip, with eight being assisted. After the tie at 8-8, Tusculum went on a 6-0, which saw Edinboro spend both of its timeouts. Land had two kills in the stretch, with other scores by Pelbath (block), Roderick, and Church (ace). The match-winning point was a miscue by the Fighting Scots, sending them home to Pennsylvania.
