GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's volleyball team rewrote the program record book on Friday night's (Jan. 13) five-set victory over Barton. The Pioneers shattered the kill (70), attack (163), and assist (65) marks, while finishing with the third-most digs (49).
The Pioneers (1-3) outlasted the Bulldogs (0-1) in a five-set thriller: 19-25, 29-27, 19-25, 25-23, 17-15.
Barton was paced by Thomas Fanic's 21 kills on a .594 hitting clip. Brandon Johnston and Benjamin Wiechert joined their teammate in double-figures with 15 and 10 kills, respectively. Moses Kresch dished out 33 assists, followed by Seth Deppe's 15. Jake Adams landed two of the Bulldogs' three service aces, while libero Bryan Medellin tied for the match lead with 10 digs. Johnston trailed with nine digs. At the net, three for Barton recorded a trio of digs: Johnston (three solo), Wiechert (one solo, two assists), and Deppe (three assists).
Six Pioneers set new career-bests in the match. Colby Landry (24), Deklan Wingo (16), and Jabes de la Cruz (8) tallied their highest kill totals, while Matt Moore added 10 digs. Both setters also added to the record night. Jaden Bramhall was credited with eight digs and three blocks (all solo), while Tristan Blake collected 26 assists and six digs.
Joining in on the fun was Dane Loup in his season debut. In only two sets, the junior notched 12 kills on a .348 rate as the spark plug. Shaphar Grant (9) and Bramhall rounded out the kill column. Additionally, Bramhall registered 34 assists, while Wingo and Hunter Walck contributed a pair of aces. From the back row, Landry finished with nine digs.
Barton hit .254 as a team with 52 kills and 19 errors on 130 total attempts. Tusculum averaged .178 with 70 kills, 41 errors, and 163 total attacks. The Bulldogs recorded more total blocks (11-7), but the Pioneers finished with more assists (65-50), digs (49-40), and service aces (8-3).
In a contest that featured a combined 37 ties and 17 lead changes, the results came down to the wire. The opening frame had the least seesaw effect, while the second and final sets were responsible for the highest rates (both of which went to TU). Set two saw 15 ties and nine lead changes, but the shortened fifth frame racked up 13 and five, respectively.
Grant started the evening with the opening kill, but Barton responded with six of the next seven scores, including two of its three aces. The Bulldogs stretched the lead to seven at 12-5 before three-straight attack errors closed the gap. Bramhall, Grant, and de la Cruz contributed to the blocks, while Wingo landed an ace to force a BC stoppage. The visitors rebuilt a six-point edge, closing out with kills from Johnston, Deppe, and Fanic.
Set two needed extra points to decide a winner. The advantage to either side never surpassed three scores throughout the entire frame. A TU attack error began the scoring before consecutive kills by Wingo, de la Cruz, and Grant. Down 5-2, Barton sandwiched Tusculum's three-point run with two of its own, tying the set at 8-all. The foes traded spurts until the Pioneers went up 22-19. Following a timeout, the Bulldogs made an improbable swing behind five-straight scores to have set-point. A pair of unforced BC errors evened the frame at 24. TU fought off two more set-point, flipping the script back at the Bulldogs. Kills by the same trio clinched the set and tied the match.
Tusculum jumped out to an 8-2 lead to begin set three, but Barton went on a 13-3 run to overtake the momentum. The Pioneers closed the gap to two, however, the damage was done. Four unforced errors by TU helped the Bulldogs to retake the match lead.
Needing a set win to continue the contest, the Pioneers withstood another late Barton run. Five-straight points by TU padded its lead (17-10) before the Bulldogs came roaring back. Needing only two points to send the match to a decisive fifth set, Tusculum led BC by six. Barton fought off three set-points until Loup stepped in. Seeing his first action this season, the outside hitter tallied 10 kills, including the final two for TU. Tusculum was aided by a match-high seven service errors by Barton in the frame.
The Pioneer attack was stellar in the final set, recording 12 kills to only a single attack error. Landry contributed five of his strikes in the set, aided by a perfect 3-for-3 by Grant. Grant was responsible for the first two TU points with a pair of offensive scores. Barton led early at 5-3 before the Tusculum offense kicked in. TU was winning 13-11 heading into a Bulldog timeout. BC responded with four of the next five points, serving match-point. The Pioneers fought it off with a Landry kill, assisted by Blake. Walck's aces came at a most opportune moment, the final two points of the match.
Tusculum finishes up the three-match homestand on Tuesday night (Jan. 17) with an early season rematch against Erskine. The Pioneers and Flying Fleet gear up for a 6 p.m. round two.
