HARTSVILLE, S.C. — The Tusculum women’s volleyball team won its 2024 South Atlantic Conference opener over Coker on Tuesday (Sept. 17) night. TU extends its all-time lead over the Cobras to 16-4.
The Pioneers (3-6, 1-0 SAC) stomped the Cobras (2-5, 1-2 SAC) in four sets by scores of 25-16, 15-25, 25-20, 25-15.
Nearly half of Coker’s kills came from Cayla Gilmore with 16. Maddy Roberts distributed 26 assists, while McKay Kaspar landed three service aces. Meadow Morse was credited with 26 digs as Kailyn Ivey recorded five total blocks.
A trio of Pioneers contributed double-digit kills: Addison McLarty (11), Martina Foster (10), and Olivia Crowl (10), with the latter firing on a .346 clip. Adding to the offensive effort were Whitney Thompson (5), McKayla Willey (5), and Madison Adkins (1). Adkins notched 34 assists, three aces, and 13 digs. Taylor Sanders landed two aces and a team-best 18 digs, joined by Audrey Tribble‘s 10 digs. Foster added four block assists, while Thompson finished with three solo rejections and one assisted.
Coker hit .062 as a team with 37 kills and 28 errors on 144 total attempts. Tusculum hit .172 with 42 kills, 17 errors, and 145 total attacks. The Pioneers led the match in assists (39-33), service aces (7-6), and total blocks (11-8), while the Cobras notched more digs (76-68).
Tusculum came out strong in the SAC tilt, as Coker managed just one tie in the first set at 3-3. The Pioneer defense held the Cobras to a -.020 clip behind three blocks, all of which Willey took part in. Thompson made an immediate impact off the bench, garnering back-to-back kills upon entrance. TU continued to pad the lead as Foster went 3-for-5 on her swings. Unforced errors doomed Coker late to close out the frame.
The Cobras responded in set two by holding TU to a -.057 hitting percentage, but neither team managed more than six kills in the frame. Crowl was the highlight for the Pioneers with four kills on nine attempts. Tusculum got the early 2-0 edge but the home team rattled off five-straight points to force a timeout. Coker stretched the lead further, making its biggest run towards the end by going on an 8-2 spurt to clinch the set.
The third frame was easily the most-tightly contested, featuring 12 ties and three lead changes. Offensively, McLarty led the way with four kills, while TU as a team registered five blocks. The teams stayed within three scores of one another with the last tie coming at 19-all. McLarty’s kills broke the deadlock before heading back to the service line. Back-to-back errors by Coker led to a block and kill by Willey. Crowl tallied the final point with a solo rejection.
Tusculum led the last set from start to finish, hitting at a .367 rate. Five Pioneers recorded a kill in the final frame, highlighted by Foster with four. Sanders broke up three-straight service errors with an ace to put TU up 20-11. With Tribble at the line, Foster scored three of the final five scores to finish out the match.
Tusculum has its long-awaited home opener on Friday, September 20. The Pioneers will host Emory & Henry for a 7 p.m. first serve.
