CHARLESTON, W.Va. --- The Tusculum men's volleyball team defeated Charleston for the first time in program history on Saturday (Mar. 15).
The Pioneers (12-9) beat the Golden Eagles (8-11) by scores of 23-15, 27-25, 16-25, 25-23, 15-13 in comeback fashion.
For Charleston, Xander Bomert landed 28 kills on a .500 hitting percentage, while former Pioneer Colby Landry added 19 kills on a .483 clip. Paul Stommel dished out 32 assists and collected four service aces. Mikolaj Daszkiewicz finished with a match-high 10 digs. At the net, Kai Cousins was credited with three solo blocks.
Deklan Wingo fired on a .488 rate for 26 kills, followed by Morgan Makovec's 14 strikes on a fiery .600. Joel Dubinsky added 12 kills, ahead of Aiden Roper (8), Caleb Hammann (3), and Kevin Blankenship (1). The latter distributed a career-best 52 assists as well. Wingo landed a team-best two aces. Libero Taylor West scooped up seven digs as Makovec was credited with four solo rejections.
Charleston hit .359 as a team with 67 kills and 21 errors on 128 total attempts. Tusculum hit .353 with 64 kills, 17 errors, and 133 total attacks. The Golden Eagles led the match in assists (61-58), service aces (7-4), digs (40-28), while the Pioneers finished with more total blocks (9-7).
Both teams hit .333 or above in the opening frame. It was nearly even throughout as there were 10 ties and four lead changes. Neither side had much separation until a 4-0 run by Charleston at 17-all. TU attempted a comeback with a 5-1 spurt but the Golden Eagles persevered. Tusculum had four blocks in the set, with two solo rejections by Makovec, while Roper, Dubinsky, and Wingo combined for 10 kills.
For the first time in the series, the Pioneers took a set from Charleston. The second frame needed overtime, which featured 11 ties and five lead changes, as the teams hit above .360. Wingo was 7-for-9, with most of his work in the early going. The Golden Eagles got out to a late lead before Makovec and an error by the home team sealed the match tie.
Charleston outhit Tusculum .526 to .208 in the third set to take the lead in the match. The Pioneers stayed within reach until a late 7-1 run by the Golden Eagles, including three-straight aces by Charleston's Stommel. Wingo had five kills in the frame to lead TU.
The teams hit over .320 once again in the fourth set, which featured 11 ties and four lead changes. Wingo landed seven kills as Makovec went 5-for-6. After a 16-16 score, TU went on a 5-3 spurt with four kills from four different Pioneers. Makovec helped close out the frame with back-to-back kills and send the match to a decisive fifth set.
In the shortened frame, it featured the most lead changes with six and also had 10 ties. Tusculum outhit Charleston .474 to .250, aided by a 4-for-4 outing by Wingo, with three kills from Makovec. The Golden Eagles led 8-6 before a 4-1 run by the Pioneers with a pair of kills from the duo. The home team came back to hold a lead before a Wingo kill and an attack error by the Golden Eagles to win the match.
Tusculum hosts nationally-ranked Lincoln Memorial on Tuesday (Mar. 18) in Intercollegiate Volleyball Association action, rounding out the home-and-home series. First serve between the nearby foes is scheduled for 6 p.m.
