GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — The Tusculum men’s volleyball team finished out the season sweep of Thomas More on Saturday (Apr. 12) night. Deklan Wingo was honored prior to the match for Senior Night as he laid claim to the program’s career service ace record.
The Pioneers (15-12, 3-3 IVA) rallied to defeat the Saints (7-14, 0-8 IVA) by scores of 22-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-10.
For Thomas More, Jacob Schurfranz and Ben Albers both reached double figures in kills with 15 and 10, respectively. Noah Smith-Trondle distributed 31 assists, while Albers and Will Busken landed the service aces. Josh Norman scooped up a team-best eight digs. Busken was credited with four blocks.
Deklan Wingo landed 21 kills on a .545 clip to surpass 1,200 for his career. Morgan Makovec (9), Joel Dubinsky (8), Aiden Roper (4), Kai Williams (2), and Caleb Hammann (1) rounded out the scoring. Kevin Blankenship dished out 36 assists. Wingo took over the career aces mark with 92, landing four in the fourth set alone. Makovec (3), Dubinsky (2), Roper (1), and Blankenship (1) also collected at least one ace. Blankenship finished a career-best 12 digs to record a double-double. At the net, both Hammann and Blankenship were credited with five blocks. All 12 Pioneers who were dressed out participated in the contest.
Thomas More hit .100 as a team with 39 kills and 28 errors on 110 total attempts. Tusculum hit .330 with 45 kills, 15 errors, and 91 total attacks. The Pioneers led the Saints in assists (45-36), service aces (11-2), digs (37-27), and total blocks (12-7).
The first set featured five ties and two lead changes as Thomas More took the opener despite a combined seven kills from Wingo and Makovec. Down 3-1, Tusculum rattled off five-straight points. TMU responded to retake the lead at 10-9, holding on until TU tied the frame at 20-all on a three-point burst. Back-to-back service errors kept the tie but a 4-1 run handed the Saints the set.
The second set saw 12 ties but just one lead change. Wingo, Makovec, and Roper totaled 13 kills as the Pioneers hit .458 with five blocks. TMU took the first two points while Tusculum held its lead at 7-6 behind a rejection by Hammann and Blankenship. The teams stayed within three scores of one another until a 5-0 stretch by TU to lead 22-17. The Pioneers had two solo blocks and an ace in the span. Thomas More went on a 5-2 rally to close the gap, but a Wingo kill ended the threat.
The Saints tied the third frame at 5-5 after a 3-0 run. From then on, the Pioneers did not allow a tie during the remainder of the match. Tusculum outhit its foe .429 to .071 as Wingo nailed down seven kills and Dubinsky was 2-for-4. TU responded with its own 3-0 spurt, continuing to stretch the advantage. A 6-1 rally was spurred by three kills from Wingo as Tusculum led 17-10. The margin kept growing, reaching double-digits with Wingo’s final kill of the set.
Tusculum allowed just 10 points in the fourth set, holding Thomas More to a -.185 hitting percentage. Dubinsky added three kills with Williams going a perfect 2-for-2. The Saints had nine attack errors in the frame as the Pioneers had 4.5 blocks. Up 6-5, TU went on a seven-point run with Roper at the service line, capped off by a triple block from Wingo, Makovec, and Blankenship. After a kill to make the score 18-8, Wingo went back to the line, needing just one ace to hold the career lead. He rattled off three-straight, with all four aces coming in a five-point span in a storybook ending inside Pioneer Arena. Williams finished off the match with the remaining two kills.
Tusculum awaits its seeding for the Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (IVA) Tournament, taking place next weekend (Apr. 18-19) in St. Louis, Missouri.
Short Box Score (Match)
2025 Tusculum Men’s Volleyball
Thomas More vs Tusculum (Apr 12, 2025 at Greeneville, Tenn.)
Tusculum def. Thomas More 22-25,25-22,25-15,25-10
Thomas More (7-14, 0-8 IVA) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Schurfranz, Jacob 15-0-3; Albers, Ben 10-1-2; Norman, Josh 5-0-2; Rossi, Dominic 4-0-2; Smith-Trondle, Noah 3-0-0; Hicks, Braden 1-0-0; Busken, Will 1-1-4; Totals 39-2-7.0. (Assists) – Smith-Trondle, Noah 31. (Dig leaders) – Norman, Josh 8; Vasquez, Tyler 7
Tusculum (15-12, 3-3 IVA) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Deklan Wingo 21-4-2; Morgan Makovec 9-3-4; Joel Dubinsky 8-2-3; Aiden Roper 4-1-1; Kai Williams 2-0-0; Caleb Hammann 1-0-5; Kevin Blankenship 0-1-5; Totals 45-11-12.5. (Assists) – Kevin Blankenship 36. (Dig leaders) – Kevin Blankenship 12; Aiden Roper 6
Site: Greeneville, Tenn. (Pioneer Arena)
Date: Apr 12, 2025 Attend: 139 Time: 1:31
