WINGATE, N.C. --- Brendyce Budd recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 16 digs to lead third-seeded Armstrong Atlantic State University to a 3-0 win over No. 6 seed Tusculum College Friday afternoon in the opening match of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional. The three-day, eight-team single-elimination regional is being held at Cuddy Arena on the campus of Wingate University.
Armstrong, who is ranked No. 21 in Division II, won the match by scores of 25-15, 26-24, 25-22 to improve to 36-2 on the year. Tusculum has its season come to an end as the Pioneers fall to 18-13 overall.
The Pirates advance to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2009. Armstrong will look to advance to its first regional final since 2008, when the Pirates won the region and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight. Armstrong will take on the winner of the Flagler-Newberry match Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
Tusculum's Kassie Voelker contributed seven kills, two blocks and a .462 hitting percentage. Sam Underwood and Brianna Anderson added eight kills each, while Bailee Price finished with seven kills and a dozen digs. Underwood posted a team-best four blocks, while two-time All-Region libero Caitlyn Dean finished with 16 digs and five assists in the loss.
Armstrong's Brittany Wolff and Amanda Jones tallied 12 and 10 kills, respectively, while setter Ashley Seal dished up a match-high 41 assists to go along with 11 digs and two blocks.
The Pirates used a 9-2 run early and a .407 attack percentage to win the first set 25-15.
Armstrong would take a 20-13 lead in the second frame, following a 6-1 run, which was capped off by a kill by Budd and a Tusculum attack error. Tusculum responded with a 6-1 spurt of its own to draw to within 21-19, sparked by a pair of kills from Anderson. The Pirates got to set-point at 24-21 on a kill by Leia Pittman. Tusculum scratched out the next three points to knot the set at 24-24 thanks to a pair of Armstrong attack errors and a service error. But kills by Jones and Budd sealed the win at 26-24 as the Pirates took a two-set advantage.
In the third set, with the score tied at 4-4, Armstrong rattled off a 6-1 run, including five straight points to lead 10-5. The run was sparked by two kills each by Jones and Wolf. Following a Tusculum timeout, the Pioneers recovered with a 14-5 spurt as TC led 19-15 thanks to a five consecutive points by TC. With Tusculum now leading 20-16, the Pirates mounted a 9-2 run to close the match, including the final five points of the set to win 25-22.
"I'm very proud of how our team worked today," said Tusculum head coach Michael Robinson. "We played with a lot of heart and showed a lot of character. We had to create some momentum with the new line-up we were working with and I felt our team responded well at times. We fought our way back into contention on several occasions, but couldn't get over the hump against a very good Armstrong team."
Armstrong hit .287 on the afternoon, with 47 kills and 14 errors in 115 attacks. The Pioneers had 37 kills and 18 errors in 115 attacks, hitting .165 for the match.
The Pioneers have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons and have recorded six consecutive winning campaigns. During that six-year span, including the last four with Robinson at the helm, the Pioneers are 131-66 overall (.665).
"I'm pleased we made it back to the NCAA Tournament," Robinson added. "We had to do it a different way this season with all the injuries we encountered, but we fought through it. We didn't have the success we wanted when we entered the season, but I'm still pleased with the character our team has demonstrated."
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