GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- It has been 475 days since the addition of the Tusculum's men's volleyball program was announced and the Pioneers finally took to the court on Wednesday night. The team faced the King University Tornado in the program's first-ever match, but the in-state foe squeaked out a narrow victory in straight sets over the Black and Orange.
The Tornado (1-2, 0-0 CC) won by scores of 25-23, 26-24, 25-20 to complete the sweep of the Pioneers (0-1, 0-0 IVA).
King was led offensively by Suetonius Harris's nine kills on a .412 hitting percentage. Sean Kohlhase followed with seven kills of his own, while Jack Sarnowski dished out 21 of the Tornado's 22 assists on the night. Sarnowski also led at the line with two service aces. Harris topped the dig category for the visitors with six. At the net, Sarnowski and Douglas Florencio both collected four block assists.
Matteo Miselli led all players with his 11 kills on a .333 clip. Shaun Kampshoff reach double-figures in the column with 10. Lucas Blanco handed out 26 assists, while Miselli added an electrifying four aces. Kampshoff tied his career-high three aces and Arthur Amorim notched a career mark of two in their Pioneer debut. Defensively, Jaret Knight recorded a game-high 10 digs. Amorim connected on four total blocks (one solo, three assists) and Kampshoff contributed three block assists, tying his personal-best in the category. Shaphar Grant reach three total blocks as well (one solo, two assists).
King finished the match with a .219 hitting percentage with 26 kills, 12 errors, and 64 total attempts. TU tallied 30 kills, 20 errors, and 73 attacks for a .137 hitting percentage. The Pioneers led the Tornado in assists (30-22) and aces (10-4), while the teams tied with 20 digs and seven total blocks.
Tusculum will host a tri-match inside Pioneer Arena on Saturday, January 11 against Urbana and Mount Olive. The first serve of the day is scheduled for noon as the Pioneers square off with the Blue Knights.
