GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — The Tusculum University women’s volleyball team won its third match in a row after taking down Mars Hill on Tuesday (Oct. 7). TU is now 5-1 in five-set matches this season.
Eight of the last 10 matches in the series have needed a decisive fifth set, dating back to 2019.
The Pioneers (6-7, 4-3 SAC) won the back-and-forth with the Lions (5-6, 2-4 SAC) by scores of 25-22, 21-25, 26-24, 21-25, 15-9.
Ioana Poenaru registered 18 kills for Mars Hill, while a trio of Lions added double-digit assists: Alyssa Kornegay (27), Mackenzie Schmucker (15), and Laela Jimenez (10). Poenaru also added a pair of service aces as both she (22) and Jimenez (28) notched over 20 digs. Defensively, Skylar Ogden had a hand in four blocks.
Seven Pioneers recorded multiple kills on the night, led by career highs from Grace VanZwieten (18) and Karris Oller (16). Jaida Alvin (13), Mackenzie Land (11), Adreana Lee (3), Isabella Bianchin (3), and Victoria Church (2) rounded out the scoring. Church upped her collegiate-best to 53 assists, while Oller, Land, and Maggie Kane accounted for the aces. Five players for TU also scooped up double-digit digs, all with career-best efforts: Taylor Sanders (24), Church (21), Mia Wave-Nelson (19), Kane (18), and Land (13). Bianchin assisted in four blocks at the net.
Mars Hill hit .148 as a team with 59 kills and 27 errors on 216 total attempts. Tusculum hit .155 with 66 kills, 32 errors, and 219 total attacks, which is tied for 10th-most attempts in a match in recorded history. The Lions led the match in service aces (4-3) and total blocks (8-7), while the Pioneers tallied more assists (65-54) and digs (112-105).
The first set took on the tone of the match as it featured seven ties and five lead changes. Neither team led by more than two until Tusculum at 17-14 on a Land ace. VanZwieten and Bianchin forced a Mars Hill timeout at 19-15, but the Lions battled back to a one-point deficit at 23-22. After a Mars Hill service error, VanZwieten clinched the set on a kill, with an assist from Church.
Set two was also tightly-contested with seven ties before Mars Hill took the lead for good at 15-14. The Lions used three blocks and two aces to withstand the Pioneers. Tusculum rallied for a tie at 21-all before four-straight scores for the visitors.
Both teams landed 18 kills in the extended third set as there were a match-high nine ties with three lead changes. Tusculum had its most efficient frame at a .298 hitting percentage. Mars Hill got out to a 6-3 advantage before the Pioneers started their run. Down 10-8, TU rattled off five-straight scores, including two kills by both Alvin and Lee, forcing a pause by the Lions. MHU did not back down as it swung the score back in its favor at 18-17, but it was short-lived. The teams continued to joust as Tusculum reached set-point at 24-22 on an Oller strike but Mars Hill fired off back-to-back kills. Now tied at 24-all, Land gave TU the set-point once again and an attack error by the Lions earned the Pioneers a 2-1 match lead.
Mars Hill looked to extend the match and came out firing in the fourth set. Down 8-7, the Lions went on a 10-2 run, causing Tusculum to call both timeouts. MHU led 23-15 as the Pioneers flipped the script. TU went on a 5-0 spurt behind two kills by Alvin and two assisted blocks including Bianchin. However, Mars Hill hung on to force a decisive fifth set.
There was just one tie in the final frame at 1-1. Tusculum landed nine kills to Mars Hill’s six, while the TU defense held the Lions to an even hitting percentage. Oller was responsible for five kills in the set, while VanZwieten and Land added the remaining four. With MHU threatening (11-9), TU finished the match on a 4-0 run.
Tusculum finishes out the week at home, hosting Catawba on Friday (Oct. 10) night at 6 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear pink.
