GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum men's volleyball team lost the tussle with IVA-foe Queens on Saturday afternoon in three sets.
The Royals (6-9, 2-1 IVA) won by scores of 25-16, 26-24, 25-20 to win over the Pioneers (4-13, 3-2 IVA).
Queens, led by 10 kills from Tristan Santoyo, also collected seven kills from Josh Bragg. Bragg fired at a .429 clip. Brandon Grabow dished out 24 assists, while Bragg is responsible for both service aces. Bragg (7) and Santoyo (5) topped the dig category for the Royals. Cody Nix and Santoyo are both credited with a trio of block assists, ahead of two from Bragg and JP Payne.
Matteo Miselli finished with a team-high 10 kills, while both Shaun Kampshoff and Mackenzie Scott added four. Scott needed only eight swings to average a .500 hitting percentage. Lucas Blanco handed out 26 assists and contributed an ace. Miselli (2) and Kampshoff rounded out the service category. Defensively, Peter Stewart dug up seven attack attempts, followed by four from Miselli. Miselli also led at the net with three total blocks (one solo, two assists). Arthur Amorim, Kampshoff, and Shaphar Grant are credited with a pair of block assists.
Queens ended the match with a .219 hitting percentage with 33 kills and 17 attack errors in 73 total attempts. Tusculum totaled 27 kills, 25 errors, and 85 swings for a .024 hitting percentage. The Pioneers led in aces (4-2) and total blocks (6-5), while the Royals held the advantage in digs (26-21). The teams tied with 27 assists each.
Tusculum will hit the road for three matches, starting on Friday (March 6) at nearby King.