GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum women's volleyball team snagged a four-set victory over Newberry on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 15) inside Pioneer Arena.
The Pioneers (8-8, 8-5 SAC) took the match by scores of 25-16, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20 to fend off the Wolves (10-12, 5-8 SAC).
Newberry's Samantha Shaffer finished with a match-high 15 kills on a .429 hitting percentage. Avery Webb dished out 28 assists in her part-time setting duties. She was also responsible for half of the Wolves' four service aces. Libero Olivia Bradley tallied 14 digs, just ahead of Taylor Hall's 13. Baylor Herlehy took part in 5-of-6 blocks for the visitors (two solo, three assists).
Samantha Bunch recorded her second double-double of the weekend, and her career, with 21 assists and a collegiate-best 14 digs. Emiah Burrowes landed 12 kills on a .323 clip, followed by 10 from Martina Foster. Carli Pigza (9), Camryn Hughes (7), Peyton Gash (5), Bailey Parker (2), Elise Carmichael (1), and Morgan Smith (1) added to the scoring with their kills. Of the 11 Pioneers to see action, eight recorded at least one kill. Alongside Bunch, Carmichael tallied 18 assists for Tusculum. Carmichael headed up the service attack with a trio of aces. Foster, Hughes, Bunch, and Amiranee Au contributed behind the line as well. Carly Sosnowski scooped up a match-best 20 digs, while Hughes recorded a career-high eight digs. At the net, Foster was the lone Pioneer to be credited with multiple blocks (one solo, one assist).
Newberry hit .106 as a team with 43 kills and 28 errors on 142 total attempts. Tusculum hit .217 with 47 kills, 19 errors, and 129 total attacks. The Pioneers led the match in assists (47-42), aces (7-4), and digs (61-57), while the Wolves recorded more blocks (6-3).
There was only one lead change the entire match, which happened within the first three points of the afternoon. Newberry started the contest with a solo block, followed by a visiting attack error and Hughes' ace, swung the advantage to the Pioneers. Tusculum went on a seven-point run, fueled by Gash, with Burrowes on the service line to stretch the lead to 14-4. The Wolves battled to keep the edge to under 10 for the remainder of the frame, but Foster and Carmichael clinched the 1-0 match advantage. Tusculum fired at a scorching .522 rate with 14 kills to just two attack errors.
The most tightly contested set of the match went to Newberry by the minimum two points. The foes went head-to-head to force four ties with the lead never surpassing five scores. Tusculum called a timeout down 15-10, regrouping to win six of the next eight points. At 17-all, the Wolves shifted gears to reach set-point. Burrowes extended the frame with a kill, but Newberry tied the match.
Pigza landed the opening point on a Carmichael assist to get set three underway. Newberry managed to tie the frame at six before Tusculum shot out to a seven-point edge (19-12). Hughes and Au powered a 5-of-6 point spurt with two kills by the former with an ace and assist by Au. The Wolves did not go down quietly as nine of the following 13 scores went to the visiting team. TU's lead sat at 23-21, with set-point coming on a Newberry miscue. Burrowes clinched the 2-1 match lead on a thunderous strike.
Looking to close out the victory, Tusculum led for the entirety of set four, denying any ties as well. Carmichael bookended service aces around a Newberry attack error to take a 3-0 lead. The Wolves were only able to a one-point disadvantage twice thereafter. The Pioneers' biggest blow featured a five-point spurt, aided by a trio of unforced errors on the opposite side of the net. Newberry responded with five of the next six scores to close the gap, but the damage was done. Foster provided the cherry on top to reach double-digit kills and seal the victory.
Tusculum makes a short trip on Tuesday (Oct. 18) to Carson-Newman (18-3, 11-2 SAC), looking to avenge the season-opening loss to the Eagles. First serve from Holt Fieldhouse is scheduled for 6 p.m.
