CHARLOTTE, N.C. --- The Tusculum University men's volleyball team ended its season by claiming third place in its first Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) Tournament after a dominating sweep of Limestone on Saturday (Apr. 17) afternoon. Caleb Slater earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team for his performance in the weekend event.
The Pioneers (5-13) won the match by scores of 25-23, 25-22, 25-20 over the Saints (12-11).
Spencer Saint-Eloi recorded 15 kills for Limestone, accounting for nearly half of the Saints' total. Christos Gkitersos dished out 27 assists, while Sean Boyle landed a team-best two service aces. Brison Owens dug up seven attack attempts, just ahead of five digs by Saint-Eloi. Grayson Stoudt and Gkitersos are both credited with a pair of block assists.
Shaphar Grant finished with a team-best 11 kills on a .529 hitting percentage in the bronze win, followed by Tom Kait's six. Three Pioneers collected four kills: Lucas Blanco, Colby Landry, and Caleb Slater. Blanco was responsible for 24 assists as well. Slater continued his hot serving streak, adding two more aces to his weekend total (8). Dane Loup, Grant, Jack Wozniak, and Landry rounded out the column. Landry notched seven digs to lead the Pioneers, just two ahead of Blanco (5). Slater is also credited with three block assists, while Loup, Blanco, and Grant each collected two total.
Limestone hit .229 as a team with 36 kills and 17 errors in 83 total attempts. Tusculum hit .309 with 36 kills, 11 errors, and 81 total attacks. The Pioneers led in assists (33-32) and total blocks (5-3), while the Saints had more digs (27-24). The teams tied with six aces apiece.
Tusculum did not trail in the first two sets, beginning the match with three consecutive points via Limestone errors. The Saints rallied to tie the frame at six-all, but the Pioneers used three kills from both Grant and Shaun Kampshoff to push ahead. A Limestone ace cut the TU lead to one, but just as quickly, a Saint service error clinched the set.
The Pioneers used their defense in the second set to go up 2-0 in the match and hold Limestone to its lowest hitting percentage of the afternoon. Kait led off the frame with back-to-back kills, with Blanco assisting. Grant and Loup teamed up to force an attack error on Saint-Eloi to shoot the Pioneers out to a 3-0 for the second consecutive set. TU's biggest lead by eight, capped off by a Slater ace. Along the way, within a span of five points, Slater assisted on three blocks, including two with Blanco. The set win was finalized again by a Limestone error.
With defense winning set two, Tusculum's offense reengaged to win the final set and, ultimately, the match. The Pioneers hit .476, landing 13 kills on 21 attempts with a mere three attack errors. However, this set was the most tightly contested as the teams managed to tie the frame 11 times with two lead changes. Grant stepped up in a big way, going 6-for-7 on his swings. Kait, once again, started the set off with a kill and Grant broke the 15-15 tie to bring the lead back to TU for good. Tusculum ended the match with four straight points via a Wozniak kill and ace, a Limestone attack error, and a forceful Loup kill.
All-Tournament Team
Most Outstanding Player - #2 Johansen Negron, Lincoln Memorial
#9 Pedro Carvalho, Lincoln Memorial
#15 AJ Risavy, Lincoln Memorial
#22 Justin Sharfenaker, Lincoln Memorial
#3 Joshua Bragg, Queens
#5 Stirling Sims, Queens
#22 Tristan Santoyo, Queens
#19 Christos, Gkitersos, Limestone
#23 Caleb Slater, Tusculum
