GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum men's volleyball team moved to 3-0 on the season in Pioneer Arena after defeating Bluefield in four sets.
The Pioneers (6-8) downed the Rams (5-5) by scores of 25-21, 25-17, 22-25, 25-16.
Bluefield had a pair of players reach double figures in kills: Dakari Williams (17) and Mason Lloyd (15). Benedict Somes dished out 33 assists, while Lloyd also landed four service aces. Both Somes and Colby Mutter contributed eight digs. Kyle Pietrzak and Richard Cisneros were credited with a pair of block assists.
For the fourth time this season, Deklan Wingo reached the 20-kill mark. The outside hitter fired on a .548 clip as well. Seven other Pioneers registered at least one kill: Aiden Roper (9), Joel Dubinsky (7), Caleb Hammann (7), Morgan Makovec (5), Riley Wisniakowski (2), Patrick Gresham (1), and Reef Mathis (1). Roper's total established a new career-best. Wisniakowski had a career night as well, upping his collegiate-highs to 42 assists, five aces, and 13 digs for his first double-double. Makovec added a best seven digs as well. Hammann, Makovec, and Wisniakowski all finished with a pair of blocks.
Bluefield hit .205 as a team with 42 kills and 19 errors on 112 total attempts. Tusculum hit .330 with 52 kills, 16 errors, and 109 total attacks. The Pioneers led the Rams in assists (50-39), service aces (12-7), digs (44-32), and total blocks (4-3).
Tusculum started out the match hot, hitting .357 in the opening frame. Within the first 10 points, the set was tied four times with one lead change. Dubinsky's ace extended the lead to 7-4 before Bluefield rallied to pull within striking distance at 12-11. The Rams kept it close until the Pioneers rattled off four-straight behind another Dubinsky ace and unforced errors by BU. After a timeout at 18-13, the visitors attempted to close the gap once again but could only lessen it to two. Two of Hammann's three kills in the set came in the closing moments, including to clinch the frame.
The Pioneers led the second set from start to finish, hitting .458. Wisniakowski started the frame with three-straight aces. TU went on a 7-1 run to lead 12-5 behind three kills by Wingo and one by Roper. A 6-1 spurt forced Bluefield to call its second timeout at 18-7. The rally saw two aces and kills by three Pioneers. The Rams cut into the advantage a bit but the deficit was too great to overcome.
Tusculum put in a new lineup for the third set to give the bench some action. Once again, there were four ties and one lead change, all within the first 10 points. Bluefield outhit TU .188 to .029 as the teams needed lengthier rallies to score. The Pioneers tallied the first point from a Makovec strike before the Rams took the lead at 5-4, holding it for the remainder of the frame. BU stretched the advantage to six at 15-9 to force a Tusculum pause. Down 22-15, the Pioneers made a run. Roper kicked it off with a kill, followed by a Makovec solo block. After consecutive miscues, Bluefield called a timeout. Now facing a 24-19 deficit, Makovec and Roper went to work again but the Pioneers could not fight off a fourth set-point.
Despite the score, the fourth set was the most-tightly contested with nine ties and three lead changes. Tusculum hit a sweltering .636 with 15 kills on 22 swings with only one error. After taking a set off, Wingo fired an errorless eight kills on 10 attempts. The teams jostled for the lead before a Hammann and Wingo rejection gave the Pioneers their final edge at 10-9. Bluefield would force two more ties, the last at 13-all. TU finished the frame on a 12-3 run with a match-ending ace by Wisniakowski.
Tusculum is scheduled to stay home at Pioneer Arena for two more matches, beginning on Thursday (Feb. 20) against Cumberland (Tenn.). First serve between the Pioneers and Phoenix is set for 6 p.m.
