GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum women's volleyball team needed just over an hour to dismiss Catawba on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 8), brushing past the Indians in straight sets.
The Pioneers (7-7, 7-4 SAC) swept the match by scores of 25-15, 25-21, 25-15 to blank the Indians (3-13, 1-8 SAC).
Ashley Johnson led Catawba with seven kills, just ahead of six by Rachel Gonzales. Meanwhile, Natalie Rehm went 5-for-10 on her swings. Audrey Spindle led the setting duo with 13 assists, with Dara Kane adding seven. Kane also landed the lone service ace for the Indians. Libero Kary Hales finished with a match-high 18 digs from the back row. Johnson and Rehm recorded two total blocks apiece to head up the Catawba defense.
Emiah Burrowes was stellar and nearly unstoppable for Tusculum. The senior collected a match-best 12 kills on 22 attacks for a .545 hitting percentage without recording an error. Carli Pigza (8), Peyton Gash (6), Martina Foster (4), Christina Jackson (4), and Hayley Stull (3) provided the Pioneer offense. Elise Carmichael and Samantha Bunch dished out 34 of TU's 36 assists with 21 and 13, respectively. Bunch had her first collegiate multi-ace match with three. Burrowes and Jackson (career-high) each tallied a pair of aces. Carly Sosnowski scooped up a team-best 16 digs, while Stull was credited with three block assists. Pigza, Foster, and Jackson racked up two block assists apiece.
Catawba hit .042 as a team with 25 kills and 21 errors on 96 total attempts. Tusculum hit .230 with 37 kills, 14 errors, and an even 100 total attacks. The Pioneers led the Indians in assists (36-23) and service aces (11-1), while the teams tied with 45 digs and five total blocks each.
The Indians may have gotten the first point of the match, but the Pioneers regrouped to blow past Catawba. With Jackson back to serve, TU went on a four-point run. A similar spurt forced a Catawba timeout at 8-3 with three consecutive attack errors by the Indians. Pigza and Burrowes pushed the advantage to 10 (18-8), while Jackson and Foster clinched the set with a tag-team block.
Set two was the most competitive of the event with nine ties and four lead changes. Jackson recorded back-to-back aces to retake the lead at 13-12 after the Pioneers tallied the frame's first three scores. Burrowes put TU ahead 17-16 after a Stull kill evened the set. Catawba attempted to sneak back in contention but Amiranee Au's ace, in combination with firepower from Foster and Burrowes, extended the Tusculum lead to 2-0.
The final frame was much like the first. highlighted by an 8-1 stretch by the home team to put the match out of reach. Catawba had four attack errors in the nine-point span, aided by a pair of kills by Foster. Tusculum's advantage stretched to 10, bookended by consecutive service points from Bunch. Gash finished off the Indians with a final swing.
Tusculum remains in the familiar confines of Pioneer Arena to host Anderson (15-4, 9-3 SAC) under the lights on Friday (Oct. 14). The battle between the Pioneers and Trojans is set to begin at 7 p.m.
