GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's volleyball team collected the four-set win over Alderson Broaddus on Friday (Feb. 4) night, earning Bryan Buckius the first victory of his head coaching career.
The Pioneers (1-4, 1-0 IVA) won by scores of 25-16, 22-25, 25-18, 25-19 to defeat the Battlers (2-4, 0-1 IVA).
Gannon Chinen led the way for AB with eight kills, just ahead of Ethan Strum's six and David Schweinefuss' four. Nathaniel Brownlee tallied 22 assists, while Jaelin Gray landed the most service aces with two. Chinen and Brownlee finished with the top-two dig totals for the Battlers with nine and eight, respectively. Gray did the most damage at the net with three total blocks (two solo, one assist).
Shaun Kampshoff shattered the program record for aces in a match with seven, which includes five in the first set alone. He was one shy of tying the four-set assist mark with his 40 offerings. Shaphar Grant now holds the four-set match record for blocks with six total (one solo, five assists), a personal best. Dane Loup upped his career mark in kills to 13 as well, on a fiery .308 clip. Jake Whyte tied his career high four total blocks at the net (four assists).
Whyte and Grant added nine kills apiece, while Colby Landry followed with eight. Deklan Wingo added six kills and Kampshoff rounded out the scoring with four. The latter went 4-for-6 on swings for a .667 hitting percentage. Taylor West returned to the court to notch a season-best 10 digs. Kampshoff and Wingo added three block assists, while Loup is credited with a pair.
Alderson Broaddus had its worst hitting set of the night (-.250) aiding in the Pioneers' opening frame win. After Kampshoff's first ace at 2-1, TU never relented the lead. He went back-to-back at the line, followed by a pair of tag-team blocks by Grant and Whyte, to force an early Battlers' timeout. The teams seemingly traded points until the lead stretched to 10, with AB burning its final timeout of the set. Kampshoff rattled off three-straight aces to push the advantage to 20-9. The Battlers fought off two set-points but another attack error finalized the score.
Tusculum had its worst hitting performance in the second set, while the visitors had their best. The foes were neck-and-neck until the Pioneers managed a four-point lead. The Battlers responded with a five-point run, forcing a TU timeout. Alderson Broaddus fought to have its own four-point advantage. The teams tied once more and Tusculum fought off two set-points, but the Battlers tied the match.
Loup started the third set off with a kill and TU shot off to a 4-1 offset. Alderson Broaddus came back to tie the frame at 6-all. The Pioneers went rolling after that point, kicking off a 6-1 spurt. Tusculum closed out the set on a 6-2 run, highlighted by kills from Loup, Grant, and Whyte.
TU hit .345 in the fourth frame to close out the match. The Pioneers had the lead from beginning to end. Loup proved the first and last point of the set. The Battlers did not go down without a fight, going on an 8-1 run, but a block by Whyte and Wingo swung the momentum for good. Tusculum wrapped up the match with the final four points via a Grant kill, back-to-back Kampshoff aces, and Loup's clincher.
Alderson Broaddus ended the match with a -.029 hitting percentage with 26 kills and 29 attack errors on 105 total attempts. Tusculum totaled 49 kills, 24 errors, and 125 swings for a .200 hitting percentage. The Pioneers led in assists (45-23), aces (11-7), and total blocks (9-5), while the Battlers held the dig advantage by one (40-39).
Tusculum continues its homestand on Saturday (Feb. 5) with a 2 p.m. match against Erskine, the second meeting this week with the Flying Fleet.
