TAVARES, Fla. --- The Tusculum University beach volleyball team played two more matches at the AVCA Small College Beach Championships on Saturday (Apr. 17), while Destiny Ramsey and Madalyn Bass finished as the Bronze A runner-up in the Pairs Challenge. Skyellar Hall and Emily Lawless went 2-0 on the day at the No. 4 flight.
Tusculum (3-8) battles archrival Carson-Newman in the Silver Playoff, vying for a semifinal match versus Wayne State College. The second meeting of the season between Pioneers and Eagles begins at 8 a.m.
Match 1: Florida Southern 4, Tusculum 1
The Pioneers began the morning with their final match up in pool play, versus Florida Southern.
The No. 4 pair of Hall and Lawless were the lone victors for TU, taking a 22-20, 21-17 straight-set decision.
In the first flight, Emma Johnson and Haley Davis fought in a tight 19-21, 18-21 loss.
Both the 2's and 3's won a set, but the Mocs found victory in three sets. Charlyn Miller and Olivia O'Keefe fell 21-16, 19-21, 12-15, while Britney Shawel and Diana Bierwagen faltered 13-21, 22-20, 12-15.
Mabry Ward and Arizona Webb kept the score close as well in their loss as the fifth pair (19-21, 14-21).
Match 2: Tampa #2 3, Tusculum 2
As the fourth place team in Pool #3, the Pioneers were matched with the third place squad from Pool #2, Tampa #2, in Challenge Match #5.
Freshmen Miller and O'Keefe battled back to reverse sweep their Spartan counterparts in three sets (19-21, 21-17, 15-7).
The top pair of Johnson and Davis forced a decisive third set, but were unable to close out the comeback (17-21, 21-18, 6-15).
Shawel and Bierwagen fell 18-21, 17-21 in the No. 3 flight, followed by the Hall and Lawless 21-18, 21-19 win.
Ward and Webb rounded out the afternoon via an identical 13-21, 13-21 decision.
Pairs Challenge
Ramsey and Bass wrapped up their run in the Pairs Challenge Division, finishing as the runner-up in the Bronze A Playoff.
The duo began the morning against the #1 pair from Catawba, beating them in a tight contest (21-19, 21-17), to continue to the finals.
For the second consecutive day, Ramsey and Bass faced off with a team from Hendrix. The #3 Warrior duo battled from behind for a 15-21, 21-17, 15-3 victory over the Pioneers in the last match of the weekend.
