GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's volleyball team downed its second opponent in Pioneer Arena on Friday (Feb. 18) night, Fort Valley State.
The Pioneers (2-7) won by scores of 25-13, 25-14, 25-23 to clip the Wildcats (1-6).
Fort Valley State was led by Jamil Scott's eight kills on a .583 hitting percentage, while Justin Yates dished out 24 assists. Scott also landed the team's only service ace. Oshane Farquharson dug up seven attempts for the match-high. Both Saferino Dour and Jaxson Hicks are credited with two block assists each.
Shaphar Grant went 7-for-10 on his swings to head up the Pioneer offense, just ahead of Deklan Wingo's 6-for-9 effort. Jake Whyte and Colby Landry also added six kills apiece. Shaun Kampshoff tallied 25 assists and was one of five Pioneers to record an ace. Dane Loup collected a match-high two aces, joined by Whyte, Kampshoff, Grant, and Landry with one each. TU also had four notch four digs: Loup, Kampshoff, Landry, and Ross Miller. Kampshoff tied his career-high in blocks with four (one solo, three assists) at the net.
Tusculum set the tone early with a 25-13 opening frame, hitting an electric .421. The Pioneers started the match on a 6-0 run before a service error gave FVSU its first point. A 10-1 spurt put TU ahead 22-10, highlighted by consecutive Loup aces and three kills from Grant. The Wildcats fought off a set point but a Wingo kill made the fight short lived.
TU hit .556 in set two, made even more fiery by holding FVSU to -.150. The Wildcats did claim the first point of the frame and held a 3-2 lead, but the Pioneers quickly turned on the jets. Down 8-4, Fort Valley State crawled back within two (12-10). A 9-1 spurt by Tusculum to lead 21-11 assuage any nerves about a tight set. Landry headed up the run with two kills, while both Kampshoff and Wingo tallied a block and kill. For the second time in as many sets, the Wildcats fought off set-point, but a Grant kill clinched the frame for TU.
FVSU nearly forced a fourth set with its best performance of the evening, yet Kampshoff was at the service line for the Pioneers. The Wildcats earned the first point and Tusculum responded with four-straight. The teams seemingly traded scores until Fort Valley State led by five (21-16). A kill and ace by Landry sandwiching a Whyte kill made the Wildcats call a timeout. A pair of scores by Loup brought the margin to one, but an unforced error gave FVSU a 23-21 advantage. The next four points went Tusculum's way to earn the sweep. Grant landed his seventh kill, followed closely by Kampshoff's ace. Two attack errors by the Wildcats finished out the match.
Fort Valley State ended the match with a .085 hitting percentage with 27 kills and 21 attack errors on 71 total attempts. Tusculum totaled 32 kills, eight errors, and 63 swings for a .381 hitting percentage (tied for the third-best in program history). The Pioneers led the match in assists (28-26), aces (6-1), and total blocks (6-4), while the Wildcats notched one more dig (18-17).
Tusculum hits the road for the first time in three weeks when it travels to Georgia to face Emmanuel on Tuesday (Feb. 22) night at 6 p.m.
