GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum College defeated Brevard College 3-0 in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action Friday night at Pioneer Arena. Set scores were 25-21, 27-25 and 26-24.

The Pioneers (5-2, 2-1 SAC) and Tornados (2-6, 2-2 SAC) were tied late in each of the three sets, but Tusculum came out on top each time to come away with the victory over Brevard.

Laryssa Welch led the Pioneers with a match-high 11 kills, while Melissa Mazur had 19 digs. Tusculum finished with a 44-27 advantage in kills over Brevard and had a 50-39 edge in digs in the match.

Rachel Ruble led the Tornados with eight kills and four blocks, while Savannah Cox added seven kills and a pair of blocks. Erin Barr paced Brevard with 24 assists, with Aleksandra Vrvilo contributing a team-high 14 digs in the loss.

Tusculum captured the first set 25-21 by scoring the final four points to snap a 21-21 tie. Welch had two of her set-high six kills during the decisive 4-0 run, including the final point of the set. Tusculum had led the set 18-12, but a 9-3 surge by Brevard knotted the set at 21-21. The Pioneers hit .297 as a team in the set, while holding the Tornados to a .143 hitting average.

In the second set, the Tornados fought off three set points to tie the score at 24-24 on kills by Ruble and Hannah Elmore, along with an attack error by the Pioneers. Rachel Garnett gave the Pioneers a 25-24 lead with a kill, but Cox momentarily staved off the set loss with a kill for the Tornados. Following a service error, Tusculum's Aubrey Hawkins delivered the final point as the Pioneers went up 2-0 by a score of 26-24.

The Pioneers threatened to make quick work of the Tornados in the third set, using the service of Megan Yopko to score the first seven points of the set. Yopko had three aces during the run, while Welch had two kills and Garnett one. The Pioneers led 18-8 in the latter stages of the set, but the Tornados went on a 7-1 run to pull within 19-15.

An exchange of points left the Pioneers on top 22-17, but five straight attack errors by Tusculum brought Brevard into a 22-22 tie. Another error at 23-23 enabled Brevard to serve for a stunning set win, but a kill from Sarah Bouley leveled the score at 24-24. Garnett came through with a kill to extend the Pioneer lead to 25-24, and Yopko finished the match with her fourth ace of the set to close out the victory for the Pioneers.

Overall, Tusculum hit .167 as a team in the match, with 44 kills and 25 errors on 114 attacks. Brevard finished the contest with a .112 hitting percentage on 27 kills and 16 errors in 98 attacks. Brevard recorded seven blocks to four by Tusculum, but the Pioneers claimed an 8-6 edge in service aces. The match had 14 ties and seven lead changes.

Shannon Murphy led the Pioneers with 21 assists in the match, with Hallie Zumack adding 15 and Mazur three. Cassie Born joined Mazur in double figures in digs for the Pioneers with 11, and Mariah Lewis paced Tusculum with three blocks.

Tusculum will return to action Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. when Lenoir-Rhyne visits Pioneer Arena in a SAC match.