BANNER ELK, N.C. --- The Tusculum University men's volleyball team went to Lees-McRae on Tuesday night (Feb. 28) and left with a three-set victory, the first over the Bobcats in program history.
The Pioneers (5-11) blanked the Bobcats (7-7) by scores of 25-17, 25-21, 25-23, earning their second-straight sweep.
Four players for Lees-McRae finished with five kills apiece: M.J. Doyle, Michael Marsans, Sebastian Heer, and Austin Beaird. Bradley Peters dished out 20 assists and was one of four Bobcats to land a service ace, including Nic Brewster, Marsans, and Beaird. Defensively, Peters recorded a match-high six digs, while Marsans led LMC with two total blocks (one solo, one assist).
Colby Landry tallied a match-best nine kills, ahead of seven by both Deklan Wingo and Jabes de la Cruz. The latter fired on a .417 hitting percentage. Jake Whyte (.667) and Shaphar Grant rounded out the scoring with five kills each. Tristan Blake recorded 27 assists, while Grant and Landry both collected two aces. Wingo (4) and Landry (4) scooped up more than half of Tusculum's digs with a combined eight. Grant headed up the net defense with four block assists, one more than Wingo. De la Cruz added three total rejections (one solo, two assists) as well.
Lees-McRae hit .033 as a team with 23 kills and 21 errors on 61 total attempts. Tusculum averaged .284 with 33 kills, 14 errors, and 67 total attacks. The Pioneers led the match in assists (30-23), service aces (6-4), and total blocks (6-3), while the Bobcats had the edge in digs (19-14).
The first two points of the match went to Tusculum on consecutive attack errors by Lees-McRae. Meanwhile, the block party started early as the sixth point of the night was a stuff by Grant and Wingo. LMC last held a lead at the 7-6 mark before miscues by the Bobcats came back to bite. Nine of TU's scores past that point were off of unforced errors. Lees-McRae hit -.222 compared to Tusculum's .278.
TU hit a fiery .389 in the second frame as the set scores tightened up a notch. The Pioneers shot out to a 10-4 edge, capped off by a kill from Wingo. Landry was credited for the next two kills by Tusculum as the lead began to dwindle slightly. Four-straight scores by LMC had the Pioneers holding on to a one-point advantage at 17-16. Back-to-back Bobcat errors and an ace by Blake gave TU a bit of breathing room. Three miscues and kills by de la Cruz and Wingo wrapped up the frame.
A match-high 14 kills by Tusculum and consecutive aces by Grant to clinch the match, highlighting the final frame as TU left Banner Elk with a victory. The Pioneers maintained the lead from 2-1 until a late-set tie at 22, holding at most a five-point edge. The teams traded points until Grant went back to serve. Tied at 23, the senior stepped up and delivered two-straight aces to preserve the sweep.
Tusculum returns home for a four-match stint, beginning with North Greenville on March 10. The rematch between the Pioneers and Crusaders is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve.
