GAFFNEY, S.C. --- The Tusculum women's volleyball team extended its winning streak to four matches with the regular season finale sweep of Limestone on Tuesday (Nov. 1).
The Pioneers (13-11, 12-6 SAC) earned the victory by scores of 25-22, 25-23, 25-18 to sweep the Saints (10-10, 7-10 SAC).
Mia McMillen was the lone player for Limestone to reach double-digit kills with 12. Malina Harris (21) and Paige Gardella (12) combined for 33 assists, while the latter landed a match-best three service aces. Libero Gabby Wessels scooped up a match-high 17 digs, followed by Tatum Riddle (15) and McMillen (11). Josie Curran had a hand in both of the Saints' blocks.
Carli Pigza had a stellar outing in her final regular season outing, recording 13 kills and 13 digs. The graduate student fired on a .542 hitting clip, with no errors in 24 swings. Emiah Burrowes also reached the double-digit plateau with 10. Middles Martina Foster and Raven Chance were flawless as well, totaling six kills on 15 attempts with zero miscues. Elise Carmichael led the Tusculum setting duo with 17 assists, just ahead of 15 from Samantha Bunch. Foster and Carmichael landed the TU aces. Four Pioneers tallied at least 10 digs in the contest: Burrowes (14), Pigza, Carly Sosnowski (10), and Bunch (10). Foster is credited with three block assists to lead the front row defense.
Limestone hit .161 as a team with 41 kills and 17 errors on 149 total attempts. Tusculum hit .241 with 36 kills, eight errors, and 116 total attacks. The Pioneers led the match in digs (69-66) and total blocks (5-2), while the Saints held the advantage in assists (39-36) and aces (4-2).
Both teams started out the contest on a torrid pace as Tusculum hit .303 and Limestone averaged .295 in the frame. The foes had a combined five attack errors, featuring seven ties and three lead changes. However, the first five points of the match went the home team's way. The Pioneers responded with a four-point spurt to close the margin, aided by consecutive unforced miscues by the Saints. Tusculum was finally able to draw a tie at 11-all. The opponents jostled for position until Limestone edged TU by two (18-16). The Pioneers rattled off five-straight scores to overtake LU for the final time in the frame. McKayla Willey broke the tie with back-to-back kills.
Set two was the worst hitting frame of the match for both squads. Burrowes landed four kills, while both Pigza and Foster went 3-for-5. Once again, Tusculum had a slow start as the Saints were able to stretch the lead to seven (18-11) before TU made its run. Limestone called its first timeout as the lead narrowed to 21-19, highlighted by the tag-team block of the Foster sisters, Jamianne Foster's first career denial. With the set seemingly in hand, the Saints held a 23-21 edge. The younger Foster and Burrowes collected a block, followed by an error by Limestone to tie. Burrowes landed the last two scores on assists from Carmichael.
Pigza powered the Pioneers to victory with eight kills on 12 swings, accounting for two-thirds of TU's kills in the final frame. There were only two ties and one lead change in the set. The score was even at 1 and 6, but the advantage leaned to Tusculum. The Pioneers shot out on an 8-2 run (14-8) and the edge never shrunk below two points. The elder Foster sister landed her first kill as TU's 22nd point. Two of the final three scores were Limestone errors, bookending Carmichael's ace.
Tusculum has clinched the No. 3 seed in the Mountain Division for the South Atlantic Conference Championship. The Pioneers await the No. 2 seed in the Piedmont (either Anderson or Lenoir-Rhyne) for Monday's (Nov. 7) quarterfinal destination.
