TAVARES, Fla. --- Jules Aiken and Sophia Baella won their Pairs Challenge pool to highlight day one at the AVCA Small College Beach Championships for Tusculum University beach volleyball.
Tusculum (9-12) continues its weekend at Hickory Point Beach with a Cross Pool match against Saint Leo at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday (Apr. 15).
Match 1: #9 Carson-Newman 3, #8 Tusculum 2
The Eagles made their lone win over the Pioneers in 2023 count, coming in Tusculum's first round of pool play. Carson-Newman needed a three-set win at No. 2 to pull off the upset.
For TU, its two victories came in the fourth and fifth flights.
Charlyn Miller and Katie McLamb won a tight first set (21-19) before cruising to a sweep with a 21-12 set two score.
Landry Tea and Kyla Oppenhuis paired up at No. 5 for a 21-18, 21-14 straight-set victory.
Jordyn Anderson and Riley Rushing dropped their top flight matchup 21-15, 21-17.
At No. 3, Kassidy Mercado and Morgan Pacione were defeated by scores of 21-12, 21-16.
The final, decisive point came courtesy of the third flight. Emma Johnson and Hannah Marsh forced a third set but were on the short end: 17-21, 21-18, 11-15.
Match 2: Tampa 3, Tusculum 1
Johnson and Marsh tallied the lone point for the Pioneers against the Spartans, who also avenged a 2023 loss to TU.
The No. 2 pair won in tight straight sets 21-17, 22-20.
Anderson and Rushing were undone 21-9, 21-13 in the top flight, while Mercado and Pacione lost 21-11, 21-14.
Miller and McLamb fought for three sets, coming up just short 11-21, 23-21, 13-15.
Pairs Challenge
The Pioneers went a combined 3-1 across the AVCA Pairs Challenge.
Jules Aiken and Sophia Baella went a perfect 2-0 to win pool two. They blew out their St. Andrews opposites 21-12, 21-13, followed by a 21-16, 21-19 victory over the State College of Florida twosome.
In pool eight of the Pairs Challenge, Katie Murphy and Emily Venable went 1-1. The duo opened with a 21-19, 21-15 loss to an Erskine pair, closing out with a 21-19, 21-14 win over Ottawa (Kan.).