MARS HILL, N.C. --- The Tusculum College volleyball team won its eight-straight match Tuesday night by defeating Mars Hill University 3-1 (25-16, 25-22, 22-25, 25-18) in Mars Hill, North Carolina. Megan Hasse led all players with 17 kills to pace the Pioneer offense.

Tusculum increased its record in the South Atlantic Conference to 8-1 and improved its overall record to 9-8. Hasse, a senior outside hitter from Kingston Springs, Tennessee, added 13 digs to earn her fourth double-double of the season.

Sophomore libero Moriah Jones dug up 30 balls for her fourth 30-dig effort of the season. Junior setter Hannah Berling dished out a game-high 37 assists, and also earned her team-best seventh double-double by tallying 14 digs.

After Mars Hill (5-11, 4-5 SAC) took the first point of the match, TC reeled of 13-straight points of the service of freshman outside hitter Laryssa Welch to take a commanding 13-1 lead early in the first set. The Lions answered with a 5-0 run of their own to cut the deficit to 13-6, but that was as close as they would come to the lead as the Pioneers rolled to the nine point first-set victory.

The second set was a much closer game that saw the score tied on 11 different occasions and change hands five times. Knotted at 9-9, the Pioneers used a 4-0 run to jump out to a 13-9 lead, the largest by either side in the set. TC held a 19-17 advantage later in the set before the Lions used a 4-0 run of their own to jump out to a 21-19 lead.

After a Pioneer timeout, Tusculum answered with another 4-0 run that featured a pair of kills by Welch and one by Hasse, to take a 23-21 advantage. A kill by the Lions' Devon Felts cut the deficit to one, but TC closed out the set with another Hasse kill, and a Mars Hill attack error to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the match.

Mars Hill won the third set 25-22 to extend the match to a fourth game, and gave Tusculum its first set loss in four matches. However, TC wouldn't get rattled, and jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the fourth set. But the Lions' didn't go down without a fight and trailed 19-18 late in the set, as they tried to comeback and force a decisive fifth game.

That would be the final point Mars Hill recorded, because Tusculum closed out the match on a 6-0 run that featured three final kills by Welch to give the Pioneers the 3-1 victory. Welch finished the match with six kills, six service aces, and a pair of digs. Sophomore middle blocker Jaida Allen had nine kills and four blocks, while freshman outside hitter Sabrina Schleuger compiled eight kills and 10 digs.

The Lions' Rebecca Butler and Mary Kate Griffin both recorded double-doubles with Butler tallying 18 digs and 12 kills, and Griffin recording 17 digs and 13 kills. Christian Nicholson had a team-high 20 digs and Andie Russel had a team-high 29 assists.

The Pioneers will be back in action on Friday night, Oct. 10, when they travel to Hartsville, South Carolina for a SAC matchup at Coker College. First serve is set for 7 p.m.