GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's volleyball team begins its fifth year of competition by hosting Erskine (Jan. 10) before traveling to face the historic Ball State program (Jan. 13). The Pioneers are set to play 28 matches (10 at home) during the 2024 campaign.
Head coach Bryan Buckius has a roster of 19 at his disposal entering year three, featuring 10 student-athletes with collegiate experience and nine freshmen.
THIS WEEK
Two of the first three matches of the campaign are a home-and-home series with Erskine, as the season opener is January 10 at Tusculum with the return trip less than a week later. The Flying Fleet and Pioneers will open the year with one another for the second-straight campaign. Erskine went a respectable 14-13 overall and 9-5 in Conference Carolinas action. EC fell in the league semifinal to close out 2023 and hold a 4-1 series lead over TU.
Bookended by the two Erskine matches is a January 13th date with Ball State. The Cardinals are coming off of another Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) regular season title and their second-straight MIVA Tournament championship appearance. Ball State finished last year with a 20-9 mark (11-3 MIVA), dropping the league title match to Ohio State. This will be the Pioneers' third consecutive trip to the Indiana campus as the Cardinals hold a 2-0 lead over Tusculum.
Ranked No. 11 in the latest national poll, Ball State (3-2) has already begun its season, most recently falling twice at No. 9 BYU.
MEET THE TEAM
Named to the Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (IVA) preseason watchlist, Landry, a 6-0 senior from the TU indoor squad, was the only player to see action in all 28 matches last season. He led the team with 312 kills, 28 service aces, and 130 digs, while adding 16 assists and 14 total blocks. Across his stellar Tusculum career, Landry has played in 69 matches, recording 584 kills, 44 assists, 55 aces, 295 digs, and 39 blocks. The Belle Rose, Louisiana native holds the men's indoor record for kills, attempts (1,365), and points (663).
Tristan Blake, a 6-3 setter from Allen, Texas, participated in 14 matches, notching 19 kills, 366 assists (second-most on the team), six aces, 43 digs, and 10 total blocks as a freshman.
Jaden Bramhall, a 6-4 setter from Tucson, Arizona, played in 24 matches, totaling 28 kills, a team-leading 613 assists, 20 aces, 88 digs, and 40 total blocks in his first collegiate season.
Thiago Da Silva of Orlando, Florida played sparingly for the indoor team in 2023. As a freshman, the 6-1 setter saw action in three matches, totaling 82 assists, one ace, six digs, and one block assist.
A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Jabes de la Cruz saw action in 11 matches during his first year in Greeneville. He finished with 60 kills, five assists, eight aces, 33 digs, and 13 blocks as a 5-10 right side hitter.
Arthur Della Nina hails from Sao Paulo, Brazil and played in six matches last season. The 5-7 libero is going into his third year as a Pioneer, totaling nine assists, one ace, and 49 digs across 20 matches.
In his freshman campaign, Matt Moore played in 23 matches. The 6-0 libero from Longwood, Florida notched a kill, 18 assists, and 103 digs from the back row.
Noa Svendsen, a Harrison, Tenn. resident, made the most of his limited playing time as a freshman. The 6-4 outside hitter recorded 11 kills on a .375 hitting percentage with two digs and one block assist.
Taylor West has been a fixture in the Tusculum backline for three seasons. The 5-11 libero from Colorado Springs, Colorado holds the program's dig record at 335 for his career, along with the digs per set mark. In 68 matches, West has also added 31 kills, 104 assists, two aces, and one block assist.
Through two seasons, Deklan Wingo sits second in the TU career hitting percentage record and in blocks per set. The 6-4 outside hitter has 352 kills, 17 assists, 38 aces, 127 digs, and 90 total blocks through 45 matches thus far as a Pioneer.
Nine freshmen will also be battling for starting roles in their first collegiate season.
Kevin Blankenship, a right side hitter on the indoor court, graduated from Fred J. Page High School in his hometown of Franklin, Tennessee. The 6-1 freshman played football and basketball for the Patriots, earning all-district for the region champions on the hardwood.
Joel Dubinsky has extensive USA Volleyball experience, both indoor and beach. The University Place, Washington native has also accumulated points on the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) beach circuit. The 6-1 freshman graduated from Curtis Senior High School and played club for Space Needle Volleyball Federation. Dubinsky placed third in the 2022 USAV indoor nationals and fifth in 2023. In the sand, he finished sixth in 2022. He was ranked first across Washington state in 2022-23 and also tops for Beach AVP in the state from 2019-23. Dubinsky twice won the Seaside Beach championship across two different levels (u16 and u18).
Nick Hale graduated from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio before moving to Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The 6-5 middle blocker lettered four seasons in volleyball and two in football. Hale was two honorable mentions and an all-region second team laurel, alongside being a state qualifier.
Corey Long graduated from his hometown Clover High School in South Carolina. The 6-1 outside hitter played both volleyball and baseball for the Blue Eagles. Long was a two-time academic award winner, 2023 team MVP, and also won the region championship on the diamond as a junior.
Also named to the IVA preseason watchlist, Morgan Makovec has both a school and club volleyball background. The Virginia Beach, Virginia resident graduated from Floyd E. Kellam High School where he lettered in both volleyball and basketball. In 2022, the 6-5 middle blocker was named all-state second team and on the region first team, as part of two region championship squads. Makovec was the 2021 Ocean Volleyball Club most valuable player.
Donovan Nye (Winder, Ga.) graduated from Winder-Barrow High School and played volleyball for the Bulldoggs. The 6-3 outside/right side hitter finished ninth at state where he was named to the all-tournament team.
Shane O'Neal graduated from Del Norte High School in San Diego, California before living in nearby Knoxville. The 6-4 outside hitter was named to the 2023 San Diego senior all-star team and all-conference second team. O'Neal was also selected to go to Clash of Titans in Hawaii during his final year. He collected a Palmar League championship, section runner-up in Division 2, and was a state semifinalist.
A 6-6 right side hitter, Cameron Reeder graduated from Clear Creek High School in his hometown of League City, Texas.
The youngest of the three Svendsen brothers, Adam Svendsen (Harrison, Tenn.) graduated from Collegedale Academy. The 6-4 outside hitter also excelled in tennis, finishing as a state finalist.
