BRISTOL, Tenn. --- The Tusculum men's volleyball team tied the program record with its ninth win of the season, aided by the fifth-straight victory. TU took down in-state foe King in a Saturday (Mar. 8) afternoon thriller. Deklan Wingo became the first in program history to reach 1,000 career kills.
The Pioneers (9-8) survived a comeback attempt by the Tornado (2-16) with scores of 25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 15-7.
Justin Sawyer and Colton Bueter led King with 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Joao Pedro Ribeiro dished out 37 assists, while Alessandro Fermani and Bueter landed the Tornado service aces. Javier Saldivar (12) and Sawyer (11) finished with double-digit digs. At the net, Grayson Stoudt assisted in five blocks.
Deklan Wingo finished with 25 kills at a .304 clip in his historic outing. Joel Dubinsky tied his career-high 13 kills as well. Morgan Makovec matched the single-match hitting record with eight kills on 11 attempts for a .727 rate. Aiden Roper (6), Caleb Hammann (4), and Riley Wisniakowski (1) rounded out the Tusculum scoring. The latter upped his collegiate-best to 48 assists as Makovec and Hammann tallied the aces. Wisniakowski and Dubinsky collected double-doubles with 12 and 10 digs, respectively. Roper also reached double figures with 11 scoops. Makovec took part in seven rejections (one solo, six assists) to tie his career-best.
King hit .100 as a team with 48 kills and 33 errors on 150 total attempts. Tusculum hit .225 with 57 kills, 26 errors, and 138 total attacks. The Pioneers led the Tornado in assists (55-44), digs (56-44), and total blocks (11-8), while the teams tied with a pair of service aces.
Tusculum began the day hitting .250 to an even clip by King. The first set featured five ties and three lead changes. Down 5-4, TU went on a 6-0 run, aided by four attack errors by the Tornado, including a block by Makovec and Wisniakowski. King kept the Pioneers within reach until a four-point spurt by the Pioneers put the visitors ahead 20-14, capped by a Makovec ace. Wingo added two kills, alongside two Tornado errors, with the set clinched on a Roper solo block.
Neither team hit particularly well in the second set, as they combined for five blocks. Tusculum climbed out to a 12-9 advantage until a 4-0 rally by King to take its first lead of the frame. The Pioneers responded with a similar run, sparked by a trio of unforced miscues by the Tornado. King's mistakes escalated the TU lead with Makovec and Roper rejecting the final play to earn the visitors a 2-0 match score.
King started comeback with a win in the third set. Tusculum outhit the Tornado and recorded four blocks, but the home team extended the contest. The Pioneers led 17-13 after Makovec landed his third kill in as many tries. Down 19-16, King went on a 7-1 run to pull ahead and win the frame.
The fourth set featured 19 ties and 10 lead changes as Tusculum sought out the victory. but King wanted a decisive fifth frame. Neither team had more than a two-point advantage during the entire set. Tied at 23-all, the Tornado landed a kill and rejected an attempt to send the match to a fifth set.
In the final frame, there was only one tie at 3-3. Tusculum outhit King .273 to -.067. Wingo had five of TU's nine kills, compared to three kills by the Tornado as a team. The Pioneers rattled off seven-straight points after the deadlock and never looked back.
Tusculum makes the return trip to Bluefield on Tuesday (Mar. 11) night. First serve between the Pioneers and Rams is scheduled for 6 p.m.
