GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's volleyball team will play the maximum 28 regular season contests, including six contests against other members of the Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (IVA), with the release of TU's 2025 schedule.
First-year head coach Alberto Chiaparini has 16 players on his inaugural roster, composed of eight returners, seven freshmen, and one transfer. The Pioneers are coming off on an 8-23 record and a third-place finish at the IVA Tournament in 2024. TU returns the Offensive Player of the Year in Deklan Wingo.
Out of the 28 matches, 11 will take place in Pioneer Arena. January has a lone homecoming as both February and April have three. March leads the way with a season-high four home matches.
For the first time in program history, a Tusculum men's volleyball match will be played in California as the Pioneers compete in the UCSB ASICS Invitational from January 9-11 on the campus of UC Santa Barbara. TU is scheduled to face California State University Northridge (CSUN), University of California, Irvine (UCI), and University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).
The Matadors went 13-16 overall in 2024, beating four nationally-ranked teams along the way, including the Nos. 2 and 3 in consecutive matches. CSUN reached the Big West semifinals for the first time since 2018, falling to the eventual national runner-up Long Beach State. In the final poll of 2024, the Matadors were ranked 14th nationally. CSUN returns Jalen Phillips, a freshman All-American, and Donovan Constable, an AVCA honorable mention All-American.
The Anteaters were 20-11 last season, ending their campaign in the national semifinals at the hands of the eventual champion. UCI returns the reigning national player of the year in Hilir Henno, who led the country in points per set and ranked second in kills per set. The Anteaters also have the 2023 NAIA Player of the Year on the roster, Nolan Flexen.
The Gauchos finished 9-18 overall in 2024, falling in the Big West quarterfinals. UCSB totaled four top-20 wins amongst them. The Gauchos are returning Geste Bianchi (AVCA honorable mention) and two conference All-Freshman team members: Patrick Kane and Josh Aruya.
Tusculum returns to the East Coast for a busy weekend in the Carolinas. The Pioneers face Erskine on January 17, followed by a tri-match at Queens two days later.
The Flying Fleet went 13-11 and 9-5 in Conference Carolinas action last year, suffering an upset in the tournament quarterfinals. The South Carolina team owns a 6-1 series lead over TU, as the lone win for the Pioneers came in 2023. Erskine made a change in leadership in the off-season but is returning two all-conference selections in Pablo Zamar and Mikey Widmyer.
The Queens University of Charlotte Royals host the tri-match on January 19, with Barton being the third team. In their first season in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA), the Royals went 2-14 and 9-21 overall. Among their wins was an upset of No. 20 Purdue Fort Wayne. They lost in the conference quarterfinals to Ball State to end the 2024 campaign. All-time, Queens has won the eight meetings over Tusculum.
The Bulldogs went 12-13 last season, including a 6-8 record in Conference Carolinas action, falling in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Tusculum leads the series over Barton (2-1), but the teams have not played since 2023. The Bulldogs have a rarity as the head coach has two younger brothers on the roster.
Tusculum will finally play in Pioneer Arena on January 21 in its seventh match of the season. The contest will be the first meeting between TU and Quincy. The Hawks went 5-19 (1-15 MIVA) last season, with 18-straight losses to end the year.
TU returns to the road for four more matches in a span of a week, ranging from January 28-February 4.
North Greenville starts the trip as the Trailblazers finished with a 15-9 (11-3 CC) mark in 2024. NGU lost in the conference title match to close out their campaign. In the series history, North Greenville has won all eight matches over Tusculum, including a pair last season.
The Pioneers end January with a two-match stint at Ball State (Jan. 30-31). This will mark the fourth-straight trip to Muncie, Indiana with the Cardinals winning the four previous contests. Ball State went 21-10 (13-3 MIVA) to win the regular season title and is set to return a second team All-American (Tinaishe Ndavazocheva) and a pair of honorable mention selections (Lucas Machado and Patrick Rogers).
Tusculum kicks off February at Lees-McRae. The Bobcats had a down year in 2024, finishing 2-26 (1-13 CC) with the lone conference win in the season finale. TU won both matchups last season, extending the series lead to 4-1. The Pioneers will see a familiar face on the LMC roster, Thiago Da Silva (2023-24).
Bluefield, the alma mater of Coach Chiaparini, comes to Greeneville on February 11. The Rams went 9-14 and 3-9 in their NAIA conference in 2024. Tusculum has won the three meetings between the squads, but they have not squared off since 2021. BU has three all-conference returnees: Kyle Pietrzak, Colby Mutter, and Mason Lloyd.
The Pioneers make a quick turnaround for a match at Lincoln Memorial the next night. The Railsplitters are the winners of the last six IVA titles, going 21-5 overall last season, including 10-1 in Mary Mars Gym. TU and LMU have faced off 11 times since 2020, with the Railsplitters emerging victorious in every instance.
Tusculum and Cumberland University (Tenn.) will meet for the first time in 2025. The Phoenix went 10-17 and 6-4 in their previous NAIA conference before falling in the semifinals. Another familiar name graces the Cumberland roster, Jake Whyte, who played for Tusculum from 2022-23 and is prominent in the TU program's record book. The Phoenix return four all-league performers: Whyte, Kaden Kuehler, Alexander Heuer, and Kix Ferrell.
On March 8, the Pioneers make the short trip to the state line to take on King. After having four victories vacated by the NCAA, the Tornado officially finished last season 3-21 (1-10 CC), losing their semifinal matchup. Tusculum collected its first two wins over King in 2024, closing the gap to 5-2 in the Tornado's favor.
Belmont Abbey comes to Pioneer Arena on March 12. The Crusaders went 21-5 (13-1 CC) to sweep the regular season and tournament championships in Conference Carolinas, setting a program record for wins. Clinching the automatic berth, Belmont Abbey faced Long Beach State in the NCAA quarters. The Crusaders will look to extend their 4-0 series lead over Tusculum with five all-conference returnees led by the reigning coach of the year.
Charleston and Tusculum are set for a two-match series in West Virginia from March 14-15. The Golden Eagles had their best year in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA), reaching the semifinals for the first time in program history. Charleston went 13-16 (3-7 EIVA) but will be under new leadership in 2025. The Golden Eagles hold a 3-0 lead over the Pioneers all-time. Colby Landry is on the Charleston roster for his graduate year and is the owner of the TU career kills record.
The Pioneers will travel to Thomas More on March 28. The Saints went 16-12, advancing to the IVA finals in their first year. Tusculum split with the Kentucky team in 2024, but TMU has new leadership at the program's helm.
The 18th and final team that Tusculum will face in 2025 is Catawba on April 4. The Catawba Indians are fielding a men's volleyball team for the first time in school history. A pair of familiar faces will grace the Catawba sidelines: former TU head coach Bryan Buckius and transfer Cameron Reeder.
The Pioneers will play the second half of eight home-and-home series throughout the season: Erskine (Feb. 15), Lees-McRae (Mar. 5), Bluefield (Mar. 11), Lincoln Memorial (Mar. 18), King (Mar. 26), North Greenville (Apr. 1), Catawba (Apr. 11), and Thomas More (Apr. 12).
The 2025 season will be capped off by the IVA Tournament, which runs from April 18-19, and will be hosted by Maryville in St. Louis, Missouri.
The National Collegiate Men's Volleyball semifinal and final rounds will take place from May 10-12 at the Covelli Center on the campus of The Ohio State University. The participating teams will be selected on April 27.