WINGATE, N.C. --- The Tusculum University women's volleyball team fell in a tight contest to the Wingate Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs (26-1, 19-1 SAC) won by scores of 26-24, 25-22, 25-18 to complete the sweep over the Pioneers (13-13, 10-10 SAC).
Wingate was led offensively by Sophie Schaff's 13 kills on a .462 hitting percentage. Rachel Alles handed out 22 assists, followed by Shannon Kasprak with 14. At the line, Kasprak landed three aces, while Treslyn Ortiz dug up 10 attacks. Defensively, Schaff totaled five blocks, including one solo.
Emiah Burrowes, once again, led the Pioneers in kills, collecting 13. Taylor Blythe finished with 11 kills on a .588 clip. Elise Carmichael dished out 22 assists, while Alyssa Rojas is credited with 16. Three players for Tusculum recorded a service ace: Rojas, Blythe, and Nevena Pejovic. From the back row, Carly Sosnowski added 14 digs to her total. In the front row, Tatum Thornton and Aubrey Hawkins tallied a pair of block assists each. Gabby Gray collected the lone solo block, while Blythe and Carli Pigza rounded out the block column with an assist each.
Wingate finished the match with a .270 hitting percentage with 38 kills, 11 errors, and 100 total attempts. TU tallied 42 kills, 18 errors and 108 attacks for a .222 hitting percentage, the highest Wingate has allowed all season. The Bulldogs currently lead Division II in opponent hitting percentage, allowing their competition to average less than .080. The Pioneers led the Bulldogs in assists (40-37) and digs (42-39), while the home team had the advantage in aces (6-3) and total blocks (6-5).
Tusculum returns to Pioneer Arena on Friday, November 15, for an Alumni Night matchup with the Anderson University Trojans. First serve is scheduled for 7pm.