MUNCIE, Ind. --- The Tusculum University men's volleyball team pushed No. 6 Ball State to the brink in a showdown inside Worthen Arena on Saturday (Jan. 21) as the Cardinals needed a decisive fifth set to close out the Pioneers.

The nationally-ranked Cardinals (2-2) withstood the late surge from the Pioneers (2-5) by scores of 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 24-26, 15-7.

Trevor Phillips headed up the BSU attack with 16 kills, ahead of Bryce Behrendt's 12. Jakub Wiercinski dished out 36 assists, while Phillips landed a match-best three service aces. Defensively, Wiercinski notched seven digs, beating out Phillips' six. At the net, Vanis Buckholz contributed four block assists.

Three Pioneers reached double-figures in kills: Colby Landry (20), Shaphar Grant (12), and Jake Whyte (10). Landry fired on a .333 hitting percentage, while Grant tied his career-high in scoring behind a scorching .524. Tristan Blake handed out the second-most assists in a five set match in program history (fourth-most overall) with his 47. Landry (2) tallied half of Tusculum's aces in the match, joined by Whyte and Jaden Bramhall with one each. Both Whyte and Landry nearly recorded a double-double, notching a match-best nine digs. Grant had a stellar outing defensively after being credited with five total blocks (three solo, two assists). Dane Loup also made a big impact with three solo rejections.

Ball State hit .230 as a team with 54 kills and 25 errors on 126 total attempts. Tusculum averaged .192 with 54 kills, 29 errors, and 130 total attacks. The Cardinals led the match in service aces (6-4), while the Pioneers held the advantage in both digs (41-40) and total blocks (14-11). Each team was credited with 51 assists on the evening.

Tusculum breaks up its extended road trip with its last home match of the month, hosting King on Tuesday night (Jan. 24). The in-state foes will battle from Pioneer Arena in a 7 p.m. first serve.