GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's volleyball team has clinched the No. 3 seed in the Mountain Division ahead of the South Atlantic Conference Championship. TU will venture to the No. 2 seed in the Piedmont, Lenoir-Rhyne. The Pioneers and Bears will square off in Monday's (Nov. 7) quarterfinal, starting at 7 p.m.
The quarterfinals for the eight-team championship (top-4 in each division) will be hosted by the higher seeds on Monday (Nov. 7) and the final two rounds will be played at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center in South Carolina on Friday and Saturday (Nov. 11-12).
Monday night will see the top Mountain seed (Carson-Newman) host the No. 4 seed of the Piedmont (Newberry). Another contest is opposite: the top Piedmont seed (Wingate) brings in the No. 4 seed of the Mountain division (Limestone). The No. 2 Mountain seed (Mars Hill) welcomes No. 3 in the Piedmont (Anderson). The final quarterfinal matchup features No. 2 of the Piedmont (Lenoir-Rhyne) hosting the No. 3 of the Mountain (Tusculum). All first round matches are scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
The winners of the first two games will face one another in the semifinals at 4 p.m. on Friday, followed by the latter teams' contest. The championship game is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday. The winner of the SAC Women's Volleyball Championship will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II regionals.
RECAPPING THE SEASON
Tusculum (13-11, 12-6 SAC) goes into the postseason on a four-match win streak. The Pioneers also claimed the lone matchup over the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears on October 1, 3-1.
At the end of the regular season, TU had four players surpass the 100-kill plateau: Emiah Burrowes (285), Carli Pigza (221), Peyton Gash (192), and Martina Foster (159). All are hitting above .200, highlighted by Foster's .322 clip, good for 13th in the SAC. Running the offense has been the setting duo of Elise Carmichael and Samantha Bunch. The tag-team has recorded 458 and 336 assists, respectively. In the serving category, Carmichael (34), Bunch (20), Foster (16), and Burrowes (11) have reached double-digit aces.
In the defensive columns, Carly Sosnowski is far-and-away the dig leader for Tusculum, collecting 416 at a torrid 5.07 per set. Next up are Burrowes (208), Bunch (183), Pigza (142), and Carmichael (141). From the front row, Foster is averaging nearly a block per frame, totaling 68 (nine solo, 59 assists). Raven Chance follows with 44, Gash with 39, and Pigza tallying 37.
Amongst the SAC leaders is Burrowes with the fifth-most kills across the league, while Pigza ranks 13th. In the kills per set column, Burrowes sits third with a 3.31 rate and Pigza is 15th with a 2.57 average. Carmichael's assist total is 10th in the league, ahead of Bunch's 15th-most. As for the assist per set average, Carmichael is also 10th and Bunch moves up to 14th. Carmichael is seventh with her 34 service aces and fifth in rate. Defensively, Sosnowski is third in the league in both digs and digs per set. Foster sits just outside the top-10 in total blocks. As a team, Tusculum is fifth in hitting percentage and sixth in kills and assists. The Pioneers are eighth in service aces and digs and ninth in total blocks.
Per the NCAA update on November 3, Sosnowski is 31st in digs per set throughout Division II.
In the Tusculum record book, Carmichael is second all-time in aces per set, third in aces, and seventh in career assists. Sosnowski ranks third all-time in digs per set and fifth in career digs. Burrowes ranks fourth in attempts per set, 10th in kills, and 11th in hitting percentage. Pigza is eighth in total blocks and 13th in hitting percentage.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Lenoir-Rhyne (18-8, 13-5 SAC) is the No. 2 seed in the Piedmont Division for the conference tournament, taking the tiebreaker over Anderson for hosting duties via a season sweep of the Trojans.
The Bears have five players with triple-digit kills, including a trio with over 200. Ashley Hawkins leads the team with 265 kills, followed by Emmaleigh Allen (254), Colette Romp (241), Braelyn Faust (166), and Emma Clark (142). The latter two are hitting an efficient .330 and .370, respectively. Mackenzie Hulsey dishes out over eight assists per set, totaling 764 thus far. Hawkins has also done the most damage behind the service line with 47 aces, ahead of Faust's 36 and Jaden Vaughn's (32).
Defensively, Bailey Carpenter heads up the back row with 387 digs. Hawkins (285), Allen (241), Hulsey (202), and Vaughn (158) are also within range of the libero. Faust and Clark guide the net defense with 69 and 65 total blocks.
Across the SAC statistics, Hawkins, Allen, and Romp are ranked 7-9 in kills per set at 2.88, 2.79, and 2.74, respectively. Clark and Faust are also in the top-10 in hitting percentage. Hulsey's assist total is good for fourth in the league. Hawkins' 47 aces are a conference-best, with Faust and Vaughn joining their teammate in the top-10 in both aces and aces per set. Carpenter's dig total and rate is enough to sit fifth among the liberos. Faust snuck into 10th place in total blocks in the league, one ahead of TU's Foster. As a team, Lenoir-Rhyne is second in service aces and fourth in kills, hitting percentage, and assists. The Bears are fifth in digs and sixth in total blocks.
Lenoir-Rhyne is in the top-50 across Division II in aces per set. Individually, Clark is 42nd in hitting percentage.
Links to live stats and video for Tusculum University athletic events can be found through tusculumpioneers.com.
TICKETS
Tickets for the quarterfinal are $5 for adults and $3 for seniors (60+), active/retired military, and youth (12-and-under). College students are $2 with a valid ID, while children 5-and-under are free.
2022 SAC Women's Volleyball Tournament
Monday, November 7, 2022
SAC Quarterfinal (at higher seeds)
Game 1: #4 seed Piedmont (Newberry) at #1 seed Mountain (Carson-Newman), 7 PM
Game 2: #3 seed Mountain (Tusculum) at #2 seed Piedmont (Lenoir-Rhyne), 7 PM
Game 3: #4 seed Mountain (Limestone) at #1 seed Piedmont (Wingate), 7 PM
Game 4: #3 seed Piedmont (Anderson) at #2 seed Mountain (Mars Hill), 7 PM
Friday, November 11, 2022
SAC Semifinal (Rock Hill, S.C.)
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 4 PM
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 6:30 PM
Saturday, November 12, 2022
SAC Championship (Rock Hill, S.C.)
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 2 PM
