GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Alyssa Raterman recorded 12 kills and a .750 hitting percentage to lead the Tusculum volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep over Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena in the regular-season finale for both squads.
The Pioneers (20-6, 14-4 SAC) won the match by scores of 25-14, 25-14, 25-16 for their seventh consecutive win and avenge last month's 3-2 loss to the Bears (19-10, 11-7 SAC). TC also secures its fifth 20-win campaign in the last seven years. It also marks the 21st time in the storied program's history that the Pioneers have won 20 matches in a season.
Tusculum accounted for its best hitting performance of the year with a .358 team attack percentage as TC committed only seven errors on 106 total attempts on the day.
Raterman's dozen kills came on 16 attempts with zero errors as her .750 average is tied for the second-highest in school history for a three-set match.
Danae Stauffer added 11 kills, while Kassie Voelker contributed 10 kills, two service aces and two blocks as she finished with a .562 hitting percentage (10-1-16). Ashley Sarmiento distributed 39 assists, while Caitlyn Dean tallied 22 digs and two aces to lead Tusculum defensively.
Lenoir-Rhyne's Ashley Wells and Kayla Morrow finished with eight kills each, while setter Meredith Lutz accounted for 26 assists, two aces and eight digs in the loss. LRU's Morgan Bunker tallied 16 digs for the Bears.
Tusculum committed only one hitting error in the opening set as the Pioneers posted a .500 average en route to a 25-14 win. The Pioneers used a 4-0 run and a 5-0 spurt to take an 18-9 lead. In the set, Meghan Hasse posted four kills on five attempts (.800), while recording three of TC's five aces in the inaugural frame. Stauffer also tallied five kills and Voelker added three kills and four digs.
In the second set, the Pioneers led wire-to-wire and capitalized on an 8-0 run and a pair of 6-0 runs to claim a 25-14 decision. TC hit .295 for the set, while limiting the Bears to .057. Raterman was a perfect 5-for-5 on her attempts, while Voelker also contributed five kills and a pair of blocks. Dean tallied her two aces in the set to go along with 10 digs.
Lenoir-Rhyne took a 5-4 lead in the third set following a solo block by Morrow. TC would answer with an 8-1 run, including six straight points as TC led 12-6. Raterman contributed three kills during the run as she would finish with six for the set in her nine attempts (.667).
Tusculum finishes second in the SAC standings for a second time since joining the SAC in 1999. The Pioneers is slated to be the No. 2 seed at next week's Food Lion SAC Tournament, which will be held on the campus of Brevard College. Official seeding and tournament bracket will be announced by the conference office later this weekend.
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