GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's volleyball team has plans to host Lincoln Memorial on March 1 in an "orange out" before heading to North Carolina to compete against Barton (Mar. 4) and Mount Olive (Mar. 5) over the weekend.
RECAPPING THE WEEK
Tusculum (4-8, 1-2 IVA) had its three-match winning streak halted by Randolph-Macon in its tri-match, but it was able to take down No. 8 Southern Virginia in the process.
Shaphar Grant added to his great week with the program's first Off the Block Independent Teams Player of the Week. He collected defensive honors earlier in the week after his record-breaking performance against Emmanuel. Additionally, the Kingston, Jamaica native landed 10 kills per match at RMC's event and hit over .500 in each contest, .529 against SVU and .571 versus the hosting Yellow Jackets. He is also credited with five total blocks on the day and two service aces.
On the season, Jake Whyte has tallied 124 kills, nearly three per set. Shaun Kampshoff has dished out 351 assists, just over eight per frame. He also has dominated the service ace category for TU with 28. Deklan Wingo has joined the setter in double-digit aces with 10. The dig column has five Pioneers within a 10-dig span: Dane Loup (55), Kampshoff (53), Colby Landry (49), Taylor West (49), and Whyte (46). Grant leads at the net with 39 total blocks (10 solo, 29 assists). Wingo (27), Kampshoff (23), Whyte (21), and Loup (13) have also reached double-figures in the defensive category.
Nationally, Tusculum ranks 13th in opponent hitting percentage at .214 and 16th in aces per set (1.51). Individually, Kampshoff is fourth in aces per set (.651) and Grant is 25th in blocks per set (.907).
LOOKING AHEAD
Lincoln Memorial (8-3, 2-0 IVA) started the season perfect before falling to defending national champion Hawaii in three-straight contests. Before dropping the contests to the Rainbow Warriors, the Railsplitters were ranked No. 15 in Division I-II, the first independent team to earn a top-15 spot. Cole Campisano leads LMU with 113 kills on a .382 clip (13th nationally), followed by Johansen Negron's 91. Kohl Kutsch is averaging just under nine assists per set, totaling 339 thus far. Negron (16) and Justin Sharfenaker (10) are the lone Railsplitters to reach double-digit aces. Kutsch also leads LMU with 61 digs, while Dawson Walker and Matthew Gentry head up the net defense with 45 and 43 blocks, respectively. Walker's block rate of 1.184 is seventh nationally, while the latter's 1.132 is 11th. The Railsplitters are second in the nation in blocks per set (2.684) and fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.193).
Barton (0-8) is halfway through a five-match homestand, which wraps up with the Pioneers. The Bulldogs have only won five sets all season, which includes two five-set matches. Brandon Johnston leads the way with 94 kills, nearly doubling the next Bulldog, and nine aces. His 8.73 attacks per set ranks fifth in the country. Seth Deppe (169) and Moses Kresch (86) have dished out the majority of Barton's assists. Bryan Medellin has dug up 51 attacks, while Thomas Fanic heads up the front row with 13 total blocks (one solo, 12 assists).
Mount Olive (6-3) started the season 2-2 after dropping a pair at nationally-ranked BYU and are currently on a four-match winning streak. Tobi Azeez is averaging nearly four kills per set for a total of 130. Eric Visgitis is hitting .508 with 70 kills, ranking him third across the NCAA. Jarrod Ferguson has dished out 322 assists, Azeez also leads the Trojans in aces with 11. Trevor Treser's 2.73 dig per set rate is the fourth-highest in the country, notching 82 digs in the process. Luke Visgitis is credited with 35 blocks (10 solo, 25 assists).
The Trojans are leading their conference in assists per set (11.31), blocks per set (2.231), digs per set (9.03), hitting percentage (.300), and kills per set (11.92).
Links to live stats and video for Tusculum University athletic events can be found through tusculumpioneers.com.
