GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — In a battle of the two oldest South Atlantic Conference (SAC) institutions, the Tusculum University women’s volleyball team pulled off the reverse sweep of Emory & Henry University on Tuesday (Sept. 16) night.
The Pioneers (3-5, 1-1 SAC) came from behind to down the Wasps (2-6, 0-1 SAC) by scores of 17-25, 24-26, 25-22, 26-24, 15-11.
Tori Boling landed 17 kills for Emory & Henry, followed by 11 strikes from Gracyn Miller. Logan Newberry tallied 22 assists to Zoie Pace’s 19 in the two-setter system. Pace was also responsible for four service aces, with Miller just behind with three. Four Wasps finished with double-digit digs: libero Gracy Lasig (22), Grace Duey (16), Boling (14), and Newberry (10). At the net, Miller aided in seven blocks (two solo, five assists).
Seven Pioneers finished with multiple kills: Breana Pelbath (17), Mackenzie Land (15), Jordyn Roderick (9), Karris Oller (6), Grace VanZwieten (6), Jaida Alvin (4), and Eliza Jewell Oliverius (3). Pelbath hit .438 in her effort. Victoria Church dished out 41 assists, as Solene Roussel contributed 16 assists. Both Oliverius and Church landed a pair of aces. Church and Land rounded out their double-doubles with 16 and 10 digs, respectively, while Taylor Sanders notched 21 digs. Pelbath led the defense with four blocks (one solo, three assists).
Emory & Henry hit .126 as a team with 54 kills and 31 errors on 182 total attempts. Tusculum hit .156 with 60 kills, 32 errors, and 180 total attacks. The Wasps led the match in service aces (9-5) and total blocks (12-8), while the Pioneers tallied more assists (59-51) and digs (84-81).
E&H started the match hot, hitting .360 in the opening frame, aided by five aces. There were five ties and five lead changes throughout, with the Wasps leading by as much as nine (22-13). Tusculum made a late push, but the damage was done.
The second set was more competitive with 11 ties and four lead swaps in the frame. Emory & Henry got out to a 10-5 advantage before Tusculum rallied for six-straight scores to overtake the lead. The teams stayed within four points of each other the remainder of the set. Land gave the Pioneers set-point at 24-23, but the Wasps responded with three-straight to take a 2-0 match lead.
Set three was also divisive with Emory & Henry going for the sweep and Tusculum fighting to stay alive. The teams tied nine times with six lead changes. TU started with a 3-0 lead before the Wasps battled back to a 6-5 edge. The foes traded runs until the Pioneers took the advantage for good at 18-17, using E&H attack errors to fuel the spurt. Pelbath and Roderick clinched the set with their kills.
TU led the entire fourth set, except for five ties. The Pioneers shot out to a 6-1 lead with Russell behind the line. Emory & Henry kept closing the gap before the first tie at 20-all. Pelbath and an E&H error put Tusculum ahead by two before the Wasps responded in kind. The team traded points before a block by Oliverius and Roderick gave the Pioneers set-point. The Wasps managed a kill before back-to-back strikes by Land and Oller to set the match to a decisive fifth frame.
Tusculum led the final set from start to finish, hitting a match-high .273 in the frame. The Pioneers led 4-0 after kills from VanZwieten and Land with consecutive errors by the Wasps. Emory & Henry shrunk the lead to one at 6-5 but the Pioneers found momentum with Russell behind the line once again. Kills by Pelbath and Land bookended a four-point spurt (13-8). A block by Pelbath and Roderick earned TU match-point, with Oliverius closing out the contest with a kill.
Tusculum continues conference play at nationally-ranked Wingate on Friday (Sept. 19). The 20th-ranked Bulldogs have set the match time at 7 p.m.
