HARROGATE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum women's volleyball team regrouped after a tough weekend to finish out the season sweep of nearby Lincoln Memorial on Tuesday night (Oct. 25).
The Pioneers (10-11, 9-6 SAC) earned the match win by scores of 25-22, 25-19, 14-25, 25-13 to halt the Railsplitters (8-18, 4-11 SAC).
Kristen Moehring (12) and Sierrah Lemons (11) were the only players in the match to reach double-digit kills, both in favor of Lincoln Memorial. Lemons struck at an efficient .400 rate. Katie Cardenas dished out 34 assists, while Gabriela Abreu and Abigail Kesler landed the lone service aces for LMU. Karson Brock scooped up a team-best 14 digs, just ahead of 10 from Cardenas. Three Railsplitters are credited with two total blocks: Lemons, Maggie Sanderson, and Kesler.
For the visitors, three Pioneers notched nine kills to bring home a victory: Peyton Gash, Carli Pigza, and Martina Foster. Gash was the most lethal of the trio as she hit .292. Samantha Bunch and Elise Carmichael split the setting duties, recording 19 and 16 assists, respectively. Carmichael tied her season-best four aces at the line, with six teammates also racking up at least one service point. Pigza collected a pair, joined by Bunch, Emiah Burrowes, Foster, Amiranee Au, and Lauren Xayavong with one. Defensively, the Pioneers received at a .971 percentage, facing 69 serves to only two errors. Burrowes was stalwart in the back row, recording 14 digs. As the starting libero in the contest, Au scooped up 10 digs. Bunch and Pigza nearly reached double-figures with nine digs apiece. At the net, Pigza and Raven Chance were credited with one solo block and one assist each. Gash and Foster tallied the remaining block assists.
Lincoln Memorial hit .140 as a team with 43 kills and 24 errors on 136 total attempts. Tusculum hit .157 with 41 kills, 21 errors, and 127 total attacks. The Pioneers led the match in aces (11-2) and digs (55-54), while the Railsplitters had the edge in assists (41-40) and total blocks (5-4).
LMU out hit Tusculum in set one with 16 kills on a .306 clip, but it was the Pioneers who claimed the match lead. The opener saw six ties and two lead changes. TU edged out the home team using a 3-for-4 start by Gash, a trio of aces, and one block. Burrowes began on a tear, recording a kill and an ace at the offset. The Railsplitters steadily creeped back within reach, overtaking the Pioneers after a three-point spurt. Tusculum responded soon after with a four-score run to surpass LMU at 18-16. The lead did not fluctuate the remainder of the frame, but the home squad did fight off two set-points to narrow the final gap, 25-22.
Gash continued her good work with another 3-for-4 showing in the second frame. Pigza joined with a team-high four strikes in the frame. Half of the Pioneers' blocks were needed in the set to lead the match 2-0, but only two ties and one lead change occurred. The foes stayed within three points of one another until the 15-11 lead by Tusculum. After Xayavong's ace, TU led by five, but a three-point spurt by LMU narrowed the advantage before Chance landed a strike from the middle to end the threat. The Pioneers tacked on four-straight soon after, highlighted by a Gash-Foster block and an ace by Bunch. Foster provided the winner on a feed from Bunch.
Facing a sweep in front of a home crowd, Lincoln Memorial held Tusculum to a negative hitting percentage while firing over .300 on offense. LMU collected the first four points of the frame to set the tone in set three. The Pioneers fought back from two five-score deficits to square things at 14-all, but the Railsplitters ended the frame on an 11-0 run to force a fourth set.
The Pioneers returned the favor by flipping the script. TU hit nearly .275, held LMU to a negative rate, and landed five aces to head back to Greeneville with a victory. Tusculum led from start to finish in the final frame. The visitors tallied seven points before the Railsplitters got on the board, including two kills by Foster and a pair of aces from Carmichael. TU collected its 20th point while Lincoln Memorial still sat at six. LMU fought off three set-points to reach double-figures before a solo stuff by Chance clinched.
Tusculum spends a final weekend at home, beginning with league newcomer Emory & Henry (4-20, 3-11 SAC) on Friday night (Oct. 28). First serve between the Pioneers and Wasps is scheduled for 7 p.m.
