TAVARES, Fla. --- The Tusculum University beach volleyball team opened play at the AVCA Small College Beach Championship on Thursday (Apr. 14) against a pair of Sunshine State Conference teams, while two sets of Pioneers took part in the Pairs Challenge, as Destiny Ramsey and Morgan Pacione won their pool.
No. 8 seeded Tusculum (19-10) continues play at the event on Friday (Apr. 15) with a Cross Pool 3 match against Carson-Newman at 1 p.m. and a Challenge match against a to-be-determined opponent later in the afternoon.
Match 1: Tusculum 3, Florida Southern 2
Katie McLamb and Olivia Knutson provided the match-clinching point for the Pioneers over the No. 9 seeded Florida Southern.
The talented freshmen won in straight-sets 21-18, 21-10, the largest point differential of the match.
Britney Shawel and Landry Tea started off the contest with a third flight identical score loss to the Mocs, 21-16, 21-16.
Charlyn Miller and Haley Davis evened the tally with their No. 2 slot win, 22-20, 21-18.
Tusculum pulled ahead thanks to the reverse sweep at No. 1, courtesy of Olivia O'Keefe and Emma Johnson, 16-21, 21-14, 15-12.
FSC garnered the final point via a fifth flight three-set win over Skyellar Hall and Emily Lawless, 19-21, 21-14, 15-12.
Match 2: Tampa 4, Tusculum 1
McLamb and Knutson were the lone Pioneers to score a point against the reigning national champions, needing a three-set slugfest to do so.
The No. 4 pairing tallied a 14-21, 21-15, 15-10 reverse sweep over the Spartans.
Shawel and Tea were the first to finish, falling 21-9, 21-12.
The top flight of Johnson and O'Keefe kept in close in their 21-16, 21-18 loss.
Hall and Lawless dropped their match at No. 5, 21-17, 21-11.
Davis and Miller were the victims of a reverse sweep after taking the first set 22-20. Tampa won the next two 21-11, 15-9.
Pairs Challenge
Destiny Ramsey and Morgan Pacione won their pool, winning both matches in straight sets, while Mia Johnson and Kassidy Mercado finished second in their respective section.
Ramsey/Pacione defeated their Ottawa (Kan.) foes 21-8, 21-15 before downing their Mocs opposites 21-18, 21-12.
The younger Johnson and her partner Mercado swept the Spartanburg Methodist pair 21-11, 21-9, before dropping their finale to a duo from Colorado Mesa 21-12, 21-12.