Johnson, Pigza named Zaxby's Athletes of the Week

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum running back Mekhai Johnson and right-side hitter Carli Pigza have been named the Zaxby's Athletes of the Week. Johnson earns this honor for a second time this season.

Johnson, a graduate student from Dorchester, Massachusetts, rushed for a season-high 104 yards on 18 carries including two touchdowns at Mars Hill last Saturday. He recorded over 100 all-purpose yards for a third consecutive game and fourth time this season. He put the Pioneers on the scoreboard with his 44-yard TD run and followed later with a two-yard touchdown scamper, his team-leading eighth TD run of the year (6^th in SAC / 49^th in NCAA II).

Johnson leads the Pioneers (8-2, 6-2 SAC) with 599 rushing yards on 96 attempts for a 6.2 yards per carry average. His 89.0 all-purpose yards per game average is the eighth-best in the league. Including his three seasons at Marist College, Johnson has amassed 3,723 career all-purpose yards (1,462 rushing, 328 receiving, 1,923 kickoff returns).

Pigza, a graduate student from Fort Mill, South Carolina, recorded 13 kills and a .542 hitting percentage in Tusculum's 3-0 sweep at Limestone in the Pioneers' regular-season finale. She completed her third double-double of the season with 13 digs as TU claimed the No. 3 seed in the South Atlantic Conference Mountain Division.

Pigza is averaging 2.57 kills and 1.65 digs per set while posting a .209 attack percentage in her 24 matches. She has tallied 881 kills, 306 digs and 238 blocks her 110-match career with the Pioneers.

The Tusculum University Athlete of the Week Award is sponsored by Zaxby's, located at 3280 Andrew Johnson Highway in Greeneville. The Zaxby's Athlete of the Week Award honors one male and one female athlete each week from an in-season sport.

2022-23 Zaxby's Athletes of the Week