GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum men's volleyball team collected its second win of the season over fellow independent Alderson Broaddus on Friday (Apr. 9) afternoon. In the third match up in series history, this marked the first time that the Battlers have come to Greeneville.
The Pioneers (3-11, 2-5 IVA) won the match by scores of 25-22, 25-19, 18-25, 25-18 over the Battlers (5-7, 0-3 IVA).
Alderson Broaddus garnered 12 kills from Gannon Chinen and eight from Jaelin Gray, who hit .429 for the match. Che' Arbo dished out 30-of-35 assists for the Battlers, while Gray added a team-high two service aces. Arbo was the lone player in the match to reach double-digit digs with 10, just ahead of Joe Mercado Samaniego. Andrew Nielsen is credited with a team-best three block assists.
Shaphar Grant collected nine kills, followed by seven from Hunter Walck and five by Caleb Slater. All 35 assists for TU were shared between three Pioneers: Lucas Blanco (15), Reese DeElena (13), and Taylor Phillips (7). The libero's septet are a new career-high. Slater and Colby Landry each landed a pair of aces, while Shaun Kampshoff rounded out the category. Phillips notched nine digs, just ahead of Blanco's eight. Grant is also credited with four block assists, followed by three total blocks via Slater (two solo, one assist).
Alderson Broaddus hit .089 as a team with 38 kills and 28 errors in 112 total attempts. Tusculum hit .094 with 36 kills, 26 errors, and 106 total attacks. The Pioneers led the Battlers in digs (42-34) and total blocks (8-6), but the teams tied with 35 assists and five aces.
The most efficient set for TU was the opening frame, averaging .235 with a match-best 13 kills. Tusculum gained the first two points of the day via AB miscues. The teams traded points until the 12-all mark as the Pioneers went on a 6-1 run. The Battlers crept back in it, narrowing the margin to two before a Grant swing clinched the set, 25-22.
TU never trailed in set two. Tom Kait led off set two with a kill and the lone tie came at 1-all. The Pioneers hit an even .000 with seven kills, while the Battlers notched one more for a .037 average. The biggest run came after Kampshoff entered to serve. AB had three consecutive attack errors (one on a solo block by Slater), preceded by a Slater kill, and capped off with an ace to trail 19-11. The Battlers battled back and closed the gap to four on a Gannon Chinen kill, bringing the score to 23-19. A service error by the visitors and Peter Stewart's lone kill of the contest sealed the 2-0 for TU.
Set three went the way of the Battlers as they had their most efficient frame of the afternoon, 10 kills on a .227 clip. The first three points went to Tusculum, but AB took 15 of the next 21 scores to lead 15-9, forcing a Pioneer timeout. The Battlers maintained a consistent seven-point advantage as the teams traded points, capped off by a two-man block to end the frame.
Both teams hit an even .000 in a set full of blocks and errors. AB started the set the way it left off, with a tandem denial. TU came from behind and used mini-runs to lead 10-5, but the Battlers used Pioneer attack errors to narrow the advantage to one. Tusculum's net defense came up strong in the middle of the set, recording three within a five-point span. This forced an Alderson Broaddus timeout, down 17-11. With the lead cut to three, consecutive blocks by the home team gave a bit of breathing room. Landry's second ace of the contest was the final straw, winning the set 25-18 and the match 3-1.
Tusculum wraps up the regular season with a Senior Night showdown against Limestone, beginning at 6 p.m. inside Pioneer Arena.
