GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's volleyball team returns to action after a three-week hiatus with a pair of road matches. On Friday (Apr. 2) night, the Pioneers will face SAC newcomer Limestone and Queens will serve as Saturday's (Apr. 3) destination. With the conference tournament beginning next week, these matches will wrap up the regular season.
RECAPPING THE WEEK
Tusculum (2-1, 2-1 SAC) last played on March 12 at Catawba, sweeping the Indians 3-0.
Both Peyton Gash and Carli Pigza landed 11 kills to fuel the Pioneer offense. Gash fired at a .476 rate, while Pigza was also efficient on a .333 clip. The setting duo of Elise Carmichael (16) and Catherine Clingan (14) combined for 30 of TU's 35 assists. The pair also finished with all six service aces, Carmichael with one and Clingan with five.
Defensively, Emiah Burrowes led the way with 10 digs, just ahead of Carly Sosnowski's eight. Lydia Collins dominated at the net with five block assists and Pigza's trio was not far behind.
As a team, Tusculum is holding opponents to a mere 0.080 hitting percentage, sixth in Division II. Clingan's 0.78 aces per set average is good for eighth nationally.
LOOKING AHEAD
Limestone (2-5, 2-5 SAC) is set to host TU on Friday night in the teams' first meeting as SAC foes. In the 2019 match, Danielle Marante earned her first win as a collegiate head coach. Vanessa Blas leads the Saints with 56 kills, while Abbey Baker has dished out 188 assists on a 7.23 per set rate. Baker and Madi delBosque head up the ace category with six apiece. Bailey Carpenter is averaging 4.31 digs per set for a total of 112 and Madeline Yeager's 20 total blocks (nine solo, 11 assists) is a team-best. Tusculum leads the all-time series 7-1 over Limestone.
Queens (5-4, 5-4 SAC) will celebrate Senior Day against the Pioneers in its regular season finale. Casey Tarvin is averaging 3.55 kills per set for a total of 110. Her 13.19 attacks per set ranks sixth in DII. The setter Brooke Farley has accumulated 289 assists and is one of five Royals to have nine aces (JayCee Jones, Lindsay Elmore, Tarvin, and Kate Majewski). As the libero, Jones is leading the team with 169 digs. At the net, Logan Witt and Elmore are neck-and-neck with 31 (nine solo, 22 assists) and 30 (10 solo, 20 assists) total blocks, respectively. Across Division II, Queens is third in digs per set (21.59), fifth in opponent hitting percentage (0.079), and seventh in attacks per set (42.22). The Pioneers hold a 9-8 advantage in the all-time series.
Links to live stats and video for Tusculum University athletic events can be found through tusculumpioneers.com.
ATTENDANCE POLICIES
Limestone is enforcing a maximum capacity of 60 in the Timken Center. Home student-athletes have priority as they will be allotted two passes. Remaining passes will then be allocated to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis. The number of available tickets will vary at each venue based on the number of reserved guests. Limestone's full policy can be found here.
As for Queens, no fans or parents from visiting teams will be permitted at home events until further notice.
