ASHLAND, Va. --- The Tusculum University men's volleyball team split a tri-match on Saturday (Feb. 26) against a pair of elite Division III teams. TU downed No. 8 Southern Virginia in the opener in straight sets before falling in four to the hosting Randolph-Macon.
The Pioneers (4-8) return home for an Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) match against the red-hot Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters on Tuesday (Mar. 1) at 7 p.m.
Match 1: Tusculum 3, #8 Southern Virginia 0
The Pioneers upset the ranked Knights (10-2) by scores of 25-17, 25-21, 25-21.
Tusculum posted a .310 hitting percentage, second-highest of the season, as TU finished with 36 kills, nine attack errors, and 87 attempts. SVU tallied a .224 attack percentage with 38 kills, 19 errors and 85 attempts. The Knights finished the match with zero service aces, 33 assists, 29 digs, and four total blocks. The Pioneers had seven aces with 31 assists, 19 digs, and six blocks.
Nahuel Recabarren tallied 12 kills in the neutral match, while Kristo Bianchin Puente added seven kills on a .545 hitting percentage. Kaipo Tagaloa dished out 20 assists and collected a match-high six digs. Bianchin Puente was the lone Knight to be credited with multiple blocks (one solo, two assists).
Shaphar Grant hit a fiery .529 to land 10 kills in the opener. Jake Whyte was just behind with nine kills on a .421 clip. Colby Landry added seven kills on a .333 rate. Shaun Kampshoff tallied 28 assists and a three-set record five service aces. Dane Loup and Landry each contributed a team-best four digs. At the net, both Grant (three solo) and Deklan Wingo (one solo, two assists) collected three blocks.
Kampshoff led off with an ace, setting the tone for the match. TU shot out to a 7-3 advantage behind two kills from Whyte and three unforced SVU errors. The Knights creeped back into contention with back-to-back blocks and a pair of kills, as the Pioneers lead evaporated to 14-11. Hitting .500 in the frame, the TU offense kicked it into overdrive after a timeout with kills from Grant, Whyte, Wingo, Landry, and Kampshoff to close out.
The Knights started off set two with a service error, followed by consecutive aces by Kampshoff. A solo rejection by Grant and a Landry kill pushed the lead to 6-1. SVU rattled off four unanswered with TU taking four of the next five. The Knights once again closed the gap to just one, but a 6-2 spurt earned the Pioneers an 18-13 advantage. Trading points, another solo stuff gave Tusculum the 2-0 match lead.
For the third-straight set, Kampshoff notched an opening ace. He landed another to bookend the 4-0 run. The lead reached five (8-3) on a Knight service error, but a 4-1 spurt by Southern Virginia narrowed the gap. The advantage once again reached five at 18-13 and SVU rattled off five-straight in response. The Knights were only able to tally three more points the remainder of the match as Grant was able to finish what was started.
Match 2: (RV) Randolph-Macon 3, Tusculum 1
The Yellow Jackets (10-3) won by scores of 25-22, 25-20, 25-27, 25-22 to end the Pioneers' (4-8) three-match win streak.
Jarrett Carrano (16), Drew Klein (11), and Kolby Gibson (10) each reached double-digit kills to defeat TU. Cade Terrell dished out 39 assists, while Gibson led the match with three aces. John Saxman notched 10 digs from the back row. Both Gio DeLuca and Klein are credited with three total blocks up front.
For the second time on Saturday, Grant landed 10 kills on an over .500 hitting percentage (.571). Whyte (12) and Wingo (11) also reached double-figures in the offensive category. Kampshoff tallied 41 assists in the effort and landed a team-best two aces. West collected double-digit digs for the third time this season and second time this week with his 10. Loup and Wingo led the way for the Pioneers with three block assists each.
Randolph-Macon finished the match with a .282 hitting percentage with 47 kills and 18 attack errors in 103 total attempts. Tusculum totaled 52 kills, 28 errors, and 114 swings for a .211 hitting percentage. The Yellow Jackets led the match in aces (7-5) and blocks (7-5), while the Pioneers tallied more assists (47-44) and digs (33-30).