GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University beach volleyball team will play matches on 16 days, including three tournaments, as part of the Pioneers' 2020 schedule. The second-year program will host three home events throughout the spring, with the season culminating at the AVCA Small College Championship in Florida.
Taking over the beach program in an interim role, women's volleyball head coach Danielle Marante will look to six freshman, eight returners, and four newcomers to lead her team to another year of success.
In the team's inaugural season, the Pioneers finished with a respectable 10-15 record, including winning all five matchups against archrival Carson-Newman. At the AVCA Small College Championships, Tusculum won the Bronze Playoff Bracket to wrap up the 2019 campaign.
"We are really looking forward to our first tournament at the end of this month," said Marante. "The effort and focus in practice is increasing the overall level of play on a daily basis. Senior leadership, combined with young talent, lends itself to a very promising year for our second beach volleyball season here at Tusculum."
The Pioneers will travel to Fort Wayne, Indiana for the 2nd Annual Principia Bash, running from Feb. 28-29, to open the season once again. At last season's tournament, Tusculum went 3-1, sweeping its inaugural match over the hosting Panthers (5-0), while also taking down Stevenson (3-2). The Pioneers will see both teams for the second year at the event, while also facing Park (Mo.) and Bryant & Stratton (Wisc.) for the first time. The Park Pirates went 5-10 in their inaugural season, while the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats are set to begin competition this spring.
Tusculum is set to traverse to Florida over spring break to face seven teams from March 10-14, beginning at reigning national champion Tampa. The Spartans went 20-10 last season and did not lose a single flight at the AVCA Small College Championships on their way to the title. The Pioneers faced Tampa at the tournament, falling 3-0. As part of the tri-match with Tampa, Tusculum will also battle UNC Wilmington. The Pioneers fell to the Seahawks 5-0 in last year's meeting in North Carolina.
On March 11, Tusculum will face off with Eckerd. The Tritons went 2-22 last season, with the Pioneers ending their year in the Bronze Bracket semifinals. The Black and Orange won the matchup 4-1 on the final day of the AVCA Championship.
As part of a tri-match on the following day, Tusculum is scheduled to face first-year program Palm Beach Atlantic and the hosting Saint Leo. The Lions did not play the Pioneers on their way to winning the Silver Bracket at the 2019 AVCA tournament, finishing the season with a 12-14 mark.
Yet another tri-match awaits the Pioneers on March 14 to wrap up the Florida stint. Florida Southern will host both Tusculum and Lake-Sumter State College for the day. The Mocs (14-16) finished sixth at the AVCA Championship, losing in the Silver Bracket finals to Saint Leo, and defeated the Pioneers in their matchup at the tournament. The Lakehawks are a first-year program within the NJCAA umbrella.
Tusculum will welcome Erskine to Greeneville for two consecutive days of action on March 20-21. The Flying Fleet are set to begin their first season of competition in 2020.
The Pioneers will travel west to Carson-Newman to partake in a two-day (Mar. 28-29) tri-match alongside first-year program Spartanburg Methodist. The Eagles ended 2019 in the Bronze Bracket finals. Tusculum won all five meetings over Carson-Newman, including two sweeps. The Pioneers dropped just four flights to the Eagles all season.
In the final home match of 2020, Lincoln Memorial comes to town on April 3. The Railsplitters downed the Pioneers 3-2 in Tusculum's inaugural home contest last season. The Harrogate, Tenn. team went 8-11 in 2019 and lost in the Silver Bracket semifinals at the AVCA Championship.
Catawba will host the Mock SAC Championship in their first season as a program on April 8-9. The three other South Atlantic Conference schools that sponsor beach volleyball (Carson-Newman, Catawba, and Lincoln Memorial) will compete round-robin style at the two-day event. Tusculum holds a 5-1 record over the teams.
The 2020 season will conclude at the AVCA Small College Championships in Tavares, Florida. The three-day tournament will run from April 17-19 at the Hickory Point Beach Sand Volleyball Complex, the home of the Florida Region of USA Volleyball. Teams from Division II and III will play on the facility's 21 professional-grade lighted beach volleyball courts. In 2019, Tusculum went 3-4 at the event, winning the Bronze Playoff Bracket.
