GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum women's volleyball team opened up its South Atlantic Conference slate by hosting the Cavaliers of The University of Virginia's College at Wise inside Pioneer Arena on Tuesday (Sept. 5) night.
The Pioneers (3-1, 1-0 SAC) endured the battle with the Cavaliers (3-2, 0-1 SAC) for a four-set league-opening victory: 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21). There were a combined 23 ties and six lead changes in the match.
UVA Wise was led by 14 kills from Kaylee Scarce, while the setting duo of Piper Suddeth (18) and Lily Gutierrez (15) teamed up for 33 assists. Suddeth landed three of the Cavaliers' four service aces, joined by Scarce. Kamryn Livingston finished with a team-best 14 digs, two more than Scarce. Cassidy Farley tallied five total blocks (one solo, four assists) in her defense of the net.
Emiah Burrowes (15) and Aly Freeland (13) accounted for over half of the Pioneer offense with a 28-kill effort. Martina Foster (9), Olivia Crowl (6), Whitney Thompson (5), Taylor Sanders (2), Christina Jackson (2), Jordyn Anderson (1), Bailey Parker (1), and Mya Lewis (1) teamed up for the remaining kills. Lewis was the primary setter in the contest, racking up 41 assists. At the service line, Freeland (3), Sanders (2), Perri Wood (2), Anderson (1), and Lewis (1) scored the nine aces. Freeland added a season-high 16 digs for her first double-double as a Pioneer, followed by the libero Caley Sosnowski's 11. In the front row, Crowl was credited with three total blocks (one solo, two assists).
UVA Wise hit .093 as a team with 39 kills and 26 errors on 140 total attempts. Tusculum hit .190 with 55 kills, 26 errors, and 153 total attacks. The Pioneers led the match in assists (54-39), service aces (9-4), and digs (58-57), while the Cavaliers were credited with more total blocks (10-6).
The first set was arguably the best offensive frame for the Pioneers, firing at a .297 clip with 15 kills as a team. However, UVA Wise opened up with an early 4-1 advantage. TU was able to rally to tie the set at 6 on a Freeland kill, but the Cavaliers managed to stretch the lead to five at 14-9. A timeout and consecutive kills by Jackson closed the gap slightly but Tusculum caught up at 19-all. UVA Wise scored the next point, but TU rattled off six-straight to clinch the set one win. Freeland's trio of aces was bookended by two kills from Foster and a score by Burrowes.
Statistically, Tusculum won the second set, but UVA Wise won where it mattered, on the scoreboard. The Pioneers recorded more kills (13-10), aces (2-0), had a higher hitting percentage, and less unforced errors, but somehow the Cavaliers tied the match at a set apiece. UVA Wise once again started strong with a 7-2 spurt, yet the Pioneers kept the advantage to within two points from the 11-9 mark until the remainder of the set. The foes jostled for position, but the Cavaliers notched the final two scores.
The Cavaliers used their defense to keep the score close with five blocks, but the Pioneers were able to edge out the needed 25th point to pull ahead in the match. As was the theme of the match, UVA Wise started with the pedal down, but Tusculum crept its way back at the end. TU maintained a lead beginning at the 14-13 tally without even allowing a tie. Foster and Burrowes closed out the frame yet again, with two kills by former and a tag-team block by the pair as the clincher.
Set four was the most tightly contested with eight ties and a pair of lead changes. Tusculum had 14 kills to four blocks by UVA Wise. For the first time on the evening, the Pioneers won the opening point, coming from a Lewis ace. However, the Cavaliers responded with four-straight scores. The UVA Wise lead grew to four (12-8) but a trio of attack errors by the visitors, including a block by Lewis and Crowl, put the Pioneers in reach. Staying within two points of one another, the teams traded kills and unforced errors. Freeland, on the serve of Sosnowski, closed out the match with three-straight kills assisted by Lewis.
Tusculum continues its grueling, six-match week with a second SAC contest in as many days. Wednesday's (Sept. 6) match at Emory & Henry is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.
