INDIANA, Pa. --- The Tusculum University women's volleyball team opened up their 2021 fall campaign at the IUP Invitational on Friday (Sept. 3), hosted by the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The Pioneers won the nightcap over Shepherd, but fell to the home Crimson Hawks to begin the afternoon.
The Black and Orange (1-1) will face Frostburg State (0-2) and Ohio Dominican (2-0) to wrap up their trip to the Keystone State.
Match 1: IUP 3, Tusculum 1
The Crimson Hawks (2-0) won by scores of 25-21, 26-24, 22-25, 25-19 to defeat the Pioneers in the event opener.
Both Nicole Peterson (14) and Grace Mangapora (10) reached double-digit kills in the first match of the day, each hitting north of .300. Hannah Simmons and Leah Henderson tallied 22 and 20 assists, respectively, while the latter finished with a team-best three service aces. Bailey Flowerdew (15) and Peterson (12) are credited with double-figure digs. Caroline Walsh made her biggest impact defensively at the net, registering a match-high four total blocks (one solo, three assists).
Three Pioneers notched at least 10 digs: newcomer Raeley Matthews (15), Carli Pigza (13), and Emiah Burrowes (13). Pigza hit an efficient .409 in the match. Freshman setter Madison Adkins made her collegiate debut, dishing out a match-best 29 assists. Matthews and Adkins led TU with three and two aces, respectively. Carly Sosnowski flew around the court to collect 23 digs, while Matthews rounded out her double-double with 11. Pigza, Burrowes, and Raven Chance each garnered a pair of blocks in their defensive efforts.
IUP finished the match with a .274 hitting percentage with 55 kills and 15 attack errors in 146 total attempts. Tusculum totaled 56 kills, 20 errors, and 148 swings for a .243 hitting percentage. The Crimson Hawks led in assists (55-53) and total blocks (8-6), while the Pioneers held the advantage in aces (7-6) and digs (60-57).
Match 2: Tusculum 3, Shepherd 1
The Pioneers forged their way past the Rams (1-1) in a defensive battle, winning by scores of 25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23.
Tusculum posted a .106 hitting percentage as TU finished with 56 kills, 36 attack errors, and 188 attempts. Shepherd tallied a .096 attack percentage with 36 kills, 22 errors and 149 attempts. The Rams finished the day with 11 total blocks to go along with one ace, 34 assists, and 79 digs. The Pioneers had nine aces with three total blocks, 54 assists, and 87 digs.
No Ram was able to reach double-digits in kills, but a pair (Mikaylah Hoy and Georgia Ohmke) mustered nine. The latter did not record an attack error on her way to a .346 clip. Victoria Nicholes is credited with 31 assists, while Elyssia Smith landed the Rams' lone ace. Libero Claire Ellis collected a match-best 23 digs, followed by Hoy (20), and Nicholes (13). Ohmke took part in nine blocks to match her offensive performance.
TU's offensive trio showed out once again. Matthews and Pigza tied with 14 kills, while Burrowes was close behind with 13 of her own. Emma Johnson had a solid effort with seven kills on a team-best .238 rate. Elise Carmichael steered the offense with 22 assists and Adkins was next up with 14. Defensively, 5-of-13 Pioneers that played in the match accumulated double-digit digs: Sosnowski (22), Matthews (17), Catherine Clingan (12), Carmichael (11), and Burrowes (10). Pigza and Johnson notched a pair of block assists each, while Peyton Gash and Chance rounded out the category.
Carmichael's six service aces against the Rams ties her for fifth in program history in a four-set match.
The first three points of the match went the way of the Pioneers, but Shepherd went on its own run to take the advantage back at 4-3. The foes traded scores until Tusculum eked out a pair of two-point leads. Carmichael's second ace of the set gave TU a 22-20 wiggle room to force a Shepherd timeout. The Rams managed to bring the lead back to one before Chance shut the book on the first frame.
Set two began much like the first as Greeneville's team fired off four points in rapid succession, keyed off by the serve of Camryn Hughes in her season debut. Shepherd was able to inch back into the set before going on an 8-0 run and take a 15-10 lead. A timeout settled the Pioneers, who responded with six-straight. Carmichael gave TU a 2-0 match lead with yet another ace.
For the third frame in a row, Tusculum began with three consecutive tallies, including a pair of aces by the junior setter. However, the outcome was different. The Black and Orange maintained a three-point advantage until the 19-16 mark. Shepherd rattled off nine of the final 11 scores to stave off a sweep.
The Rams notched the opening point of the fourth set, but the Pioneers again started out fiery. Shepherd began to chip away at the lead. After taking over on a 9-8 advantage, Adkins continued her nearly flawless serve game and TU never relented the lead again in the match. Shepherd fought off multiple set points, but the Pioneers endured to capture their first win of the season.
