GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's volleyball team remains perfect (7-0) at home and has extended their South Atlantic Conference lead to two games. Carly Sosnowski finished with a career-high 31 digs in the Pioneers' four set victory over Queens University of Charlotte.
The Black and Orange (13-2, 9-1 SAC) won the match by scores of 25-19, 25-16, 20-25, 25-22 to dethrone the Royals (9-7, 4-3 SAC).
Queens had three players reach double-digit kills, led by Lindsay Elmore's 15 on a .500 hitting percentage. Both Alleigh Johnson and Jordyn Johnson notched 10 kills. Brooke Farley dished out 38 assists, while Jesse George landed four service aces for the Royals. Alleigh Johnson (15), Loren Johnson (11), Jordyn Johnson (10), and Mackenzie Shank all recorded double-figures in digs. Kayla McDuffie is credited with three total blocks (two solo, one assist).
Emiah Burrowes finished with a match-high 21 kills on a .415 clip, followed by 12 from Raeley Matthews and 10 by Carli Pigza. Peyton Gash also contributed nine kills on a .318 average. Lydia Collins was 3-for-6 on her swings, while Bailey Parker went 4-for-9, neither recording an attack error. Elise Carmichael handed out 31 assists, just ahead of Catherine Clingan's 25. Matthews led the Pioneers behind the service line, landing a trio of aces. Collins (2), Clingan (2), and Carmichael (1) rounded out the column.
Defensively, Carly Sosnowski had a career-best outing, scooping up 31 digs in the win. This sum was the most by an individual, regardless of match length, since 2018. Matthews and Burrowes completed their double-doubles with 11 and 10 digs, respectively. At the net, Parker totaled three blocks (one solo, two assists) to lead the team.
Queens hit .208 as a team with 49 kills and 16 errors in 159 total attempts. Tusculum hit .284 with 59 kills, 15 errors, and 155 total attacks. The Pioneers led the Royals in assists (58-44), digs (86-74), and aces (8-7), while the teams tied with five total blocks.
TU had a bit of a slow start, but quickly made up their lost ground. After dropping the first point, Queens collected the next four points. The Pioneers rallied for five of their own and a succeeding four-point spurt pushed the advantage to 11-6. The Royals made an attempt to pull a comeback, but Tusculum claimed four of the final five points of the set to clinch it.
The Pioneers hit .364 in set two to put Queens down 0-2. The score was competitive 7-7 before the home team found its groove. A Matthews kill sparked a 13-3 run, including a span of six unanswered points. In the stretch, Burrowes recorded five kills and Clingan landed consecutive aces. TU also garnered six points solely off of attack errors by the Royals.
Queens held the Pioneers at bay in the third set to avoid being swept. The Royals did not relent the lead after the 10-9 mark. Back-to-back kills by Burrowes narrowed the advantage to 21-20 but the final four scores went the visitor's way.
Set four ended up being the closest of the match. Queens went on a six-point run to close the gap to 13-12 before Matthews killed the rally. TU claimed four consecutive scores to stretch the lead to 18-13 then the teams traded scores. The Royals closed the margin to three at 22-20 and fought off one match-point before Burrowes clinched the victory with a kill.
Tusculum begins its final weekend at home with Coker on Friday (Oct. 15). First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.
