HARTSVILLE, S.C. --- The Tusculum University women's volleyball team notched its fourth consecutive win on Friday night (Sept. 23), sweeping Coker in straight sets. The victory extends the all-time Pioneer lead over the Cobras to 13-4.
The Black and Orange (4-5, 4-2 SAC) won the contest by scores of 25-16, 25-18, 25-11 to strike down the Cobras (3-9, 0-6 SAC).
Chelsey Blume tallied a team-best six kills and three solo blocks in the losing effort. Adriana Velez dished out 11 assists, while she and Kendal Boland landed the two service aces. Makayla Harris scooped up seven digs to lead Coker.
Sixteen Pioneers participated in the quick match. Carli Pigza registered her second career double-double behind 13 kills and 10 digs, firing on a .476 clip. Emiah Burrowes and Peyton Gash were right behind her with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Burrowes hit on a .500 pace, while Gash averaged a .450 percentage. Middles Martina Foster and Raven Chance were nearly flawless in their outings, neither recording an attack error. Foster was 6-for-8, followed by Chance's 4-for-5 performance. Elise Carmichael (23) and Samantha Bunch (22) tag-teamed setting duties, collecting 45 assists. Carly Sosnowski gathered the remaining six. Burrowes, Bunch, and Carmichael were the Pioneers to notch an ace. Defensively, joining Pigza in double-digit digs was Sosnowski with a match-high 21. At the net, Foster was credited with a pair of solo blocks, while Bailey Parker also finished with a pair of rejections (one solo, one assist). In her collegiate debut, Christina Jackson added a kill and block assist.
Carmichael moved up a spot in the career assist category in the TU record book. The senior is now eighth with 1,516 assists. She also entered into a tie for fifth in the service ace totals with 122.
Coker hit .030 as a team with 21 kills and 18 errors on 99 total attempts. Tusculum hit .418 with 51 kills, 10 errors, and 98 total attacks. The Pioneers led the Cobras in assists (51-20), service aces (3-2), digs (56-34), and total blocks (7-5). Coker's hitting percentage is the lowest for a TU opponent this season, while the offense's fiery rate was the best in nearly a year.
In the record book, the Pioneers' 51 assists rank fourth all-time in three-set matches. The 51 kills are tied for 11th-most in a three-setter.
Tusculum had double-digit kills in every set of the evening, highlighted by 21 in the opening frame. Coker managed only three ties, never overtaking the Pioneers. TU also hit a match-best .487 to start the match with intent. Set one's last even score was 3-all, before the visitor shifted gears. A four-point spurt, fueled by back-to-back-to-back smashes from Gash, gave Tusculum a comfortable edge. Coker was never able to get within striking distance again. Burrowes and Foster closed out the set for a nine-score win.
The closest set of the night was the second frame, but TU still won by a solid margin. Coker used four of its five blocks on the match to slow Tusculum down a touch. The Cobras even took their lone lead of the match in the frame, before five consecutive points were tallied by the Pioneers to regain the advantage at 6-3. For every two points to TU, Coker managed just one. CU did muster a four-point run, but Tusculum responded with a 5-for-6 dash. The home team also fought off three set points before Pigza clinched the 2-0 lead.
TU had everything clicking in the deciding set, ranging from a .440 clip with a mere two attack errors to all three aces to four total blocks. The Pioneers' first four scores were kills by four different attackers: Pigza, Burrowes, Foster, and Gash. A 6-for-7 streak, served mostly by Sosnowski, put the set and match out of the Cobras' reach. TU closed the match out on a similar spurt, featuring three consecutive inputs by Parker (a kill, solo block, and block assist). Burrowes' ace sealed the sweep.
Tusculum continues its stay in the Carolinas with a showdown at nationally-ranked Wingate (15-1, 6-0 SAC) on Saturday (Sept. 24). The Pioneers and 24th-ranked Bulldogs are set for a 2 p.m. first serve in Cuddy Arena.
