GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum University beach volleyball swept its home doubleheader on Thursday (Mar. 11) to begin the season 2-0, the best start in program history. First-year head coach Jason Morris is undefeated in his short tenure as a result.
The Pioneers did not drop a single set to St. Andrews and the Knights were only able to reach double-figures in points across eight of the 20 sets played.
Tusculum has a quick turnaround as it will play a tri-match on Saturday (Mar. 13). Carson-Newman is set to host both the Pioneers and Erskine. TU will open play versus the Flying Fleet at 1 p.m. and will take on its archrival at 4 p.m.
The Black and Orange opened the day with a strong showing by the third flight of Britney Shawel and Diana Bierwagen. They surged out to a 12-2 lead in both sets, winning 21-6, 21-5 for the first point of the day. Emily Lawless and Skyellar Hall mounted a 17-4 advantage in the first frame of the fourth flight, taking it 21-5. St. Andrews put up a fight in set two, but TU held strong for a 21-17 victory. The No. 2 pairing of Haley Davis and Emma Johnson used 5-2 spurts between side changes to collect a 21-9 set one win, while a 9-2 run closed out the second set, 21-11. At No. 5, Mabry Ward and Emily Venable allowed the Knights' pair to earn just 12 points between the two sets, earning a 21-7, 21-5 triumph. Freshmen Olivia O'Keefe and Charlyn Miller started their collegiate careers in the first flight. The dynamic duo dominated at the next level, winning 21-2, 21-6.
With St. Andrews unable to fill a sixth flight for an exhibition match, TU put two pairs together for an intersquad scrimmage. Senior Arizona Webb and Madalyn Bass downed Destiny Ramsey and Gabby Rambo 21-14, 21-15.
The pairings remained the same for Tusculum in the second match of the day, as did the order of finish. Shawel and Bierwagen collected a 21-11, 21-12 win for the opening point of the afternoon. Lawless and Venable part two was also a closer match, but earned a 21-11, 21-16 decision. The Davis and Johnson flight finished with identical 21-10, 21-10 scores. In the fifth flight, Ward and Venable nearly duplicated their match one score via a 21-6, 21-5 victory. The top pair of O'Keefe and Miller handled their opponents with efficiency, compiling a 21-8, 21-9 score.
The pairings for the sixth flight exhibition were switched up and all three sets were needed to determine the outcome. Webb and Ramsey claimed set one 21-16, but Rambo and Bass completed the reverse sweep, 21-17, 15-8.
