GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's volleyball team dropped a tightly-contested Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) match to Queens University of Charlotte in a rare Thursday night (Feb. 9) contest. TU sophomore Deklan Wingo averaged a .722 hitting percentage, the second-highest in program history.

Wingo's fiery hitting came on 13 kills with 18 swings, recording no errors. It comes just shy of Dane Loup's 8-for-11 (.727) feat in 2021.

The Royals (3-7) swept the match over the Pioneers (3-8) by scores of 25-19, 25-21, 25-22.

Queens had three players reach double-figures in kills: Matthew Pilch (17), Daniel Leitao (11), and Jack Brinkman (11). Pilch and Brinkman fired on .593 and .529 clips, respectively. Brian Schwob notched 39 assists, while he and Brinkman landed the four Royals service aces. Guillermo Jordan finished with a match-high nine digs as Riley Mulkey led the net defense with five total blocks (two solo, three assists).

Joining Wingo offensively was Shaphar Grant and Colby Landry with eight kills apiece. Jake Whyte (6), Loup (3), Hunter Walck (2), and Tristan Blake (1) rounded out the scoring effort. Blake dished out 37 of the Pioneers' 38 assists. Landry tallied a pair of aces, followed by one from both Wingo and Grant. Matt Moore led the defense with eight digs, while Grant is credited with three block assists.

Queens hit .435 as a team with 48 kills and 11 errors on 85 total attempts. Tusculum averaged .252 with 41 kills, 15 errors, and 103 total attacks. The Royals led the Pioneers in assists (44-38), digs (34-23), and total blocks (8-5), while the match was tied with four service aces apiece.

Tusculum continues its three-match homestand with a Friday night (Feb. 10) IVA showdown against Limestone. The Pioneers and Saints have a first-serve time of 7 p.m.