Tusculum Throttles Alderson Broaddus

Tusculum Throttles Alderson Broaddus

PHILIPPI, W. Va. --- The Tusculum men's volleyball team showed no love on Valentine's Day to IVA-foe Alderson Broaddus, sweeping the Battlers handily on a .339 hitting clip.

The Pioneers (3-9, 2-1 IVA) won the match by scores of 25-16, 25-19, 25-17 over the Battlers (0-5, 0-1 IVA).

Conrad Roszkowski led the six Battlers with eight kills, followed by Ifeanyi Ukachukwu (3) and Trevor Filer (2). Filer's pair came on three swings, a .667 hitting percentage. He also claimed the team-high in assists with 11. Roszkowski collected three service aces, while Chase Doyle and Eran Shifris dug up five attacks to head up the back row for the Battlers. Ukachukwu and Roszkowski both recorded four total blocks (one solo, three assists).

Matteo Miselli collected a match-high nine kills, but Mackenzie Scott was the more efficient. With a career-high seven kills on 13 swings, Scott hit an effective .385. Arthur Amorim and Tom Kait finished with four kills, while Hunter Walck and Shaphar Grant notched three. Lucas Blanco dished out 27 assists to fuel the offense. The Pioneers set a new program record with 12 aces on the night. Ivan Sosa's three was a career-high effort with three teammates landing a pair each: Amorim, Blanco, and Scott.

Defensively, Blanco both net six digs, just ahead of four from Jaret Knight. In the front row, four Pioneers are credited with a pair of block assists: Amorim, Kait, Sosa, and Grant.

Alderson Broaddus hit -.036 as a team with 15 kills and 17 attack errors in 55 total attempts. Tusculum hit .286 with 32 kills, 14 errors and 63 total attacks. The Pioneers led the Battlers in assists (31-14), aces (12-5), and digs (20-15), while the home team held the total blocks advantage (7-6)

Tusculum led off the night with a first set hitting percentage of .370, shooting out to an 18-0 lead. Alderson Broaddus took the next three points, trying to crawl back within reach, but service errors by the Battlers kept giving the Pioneers an edge. Scott's first ace of the contest clinched the opening frame for Tusculum.

The second set was a tighter affair with the Pioneers winning by a six-point margin. The Pioneers gained some breathing room towards the end of the frame. The blocking tag-team of Grant and Miselli started a solid stretch, which included kills from Grant, Scott, Amorim, and Miselli. 

Alderson Broaddus, looking to extend the night and win their first set of the season, used three consecutive aces by Roszowski to take the lead 6-5 to begin the frame. The Pioneers responded in kind, claiming eight of the next nine points, including a pair of aces by Sosa. Pulling back within two at 16-14, the Battlers allowed Tusculum to earn nine of the final 12 marks to clinch the three-set victory.

Tusculum begins the descent of its lengthy road swing with a trip to North Carolina to face Lees-McRae on Tuesday, February 18. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.