EMORY, Va. --- The Tusculum women's volleyball team won its second South Atlantic Conference match within a 24-hour span as TU took down Emory & Henry in a rare Wednesday (Sept. 6) night contest.
The Pioneers (4-1, 2-0 SAC) rebounded for a four-set victory over the hosting Wasps (1-2, 0-1 SAC): 24-26, 25-17, 25-22, 25-15.
Emory & Henry had nine kills from Grace Duey and eight from Brianna Hogan to head up the offense. Payton Rolfsen dished out 30 assists and landed a pair of service aces. She also tacked on a team-high 13 digs. Gracyn Miller and Hannah Watson were credited with two block assists each.
Emiah Burrowes (14) and Whitney Thompson (12) both reached double-digit kills while the latter fired on a .346 hitting percentage. Martina Foster and Bailey Parker were incredibly efficient as well with .500 and .417 clips, respectively, for a combined 14 points. Madison Adkins stuffed the stat sheets once again, recording a double-double with 33 assists and 11 digs, accompanied by two kills, five aces, and two blocks. Aly Freeland led the match with 14 digs. At the net, Christina Jackson had a hand in five blocks, while Foster and Parker assisted in four each.
Emory & Henry hit .069 as a team with 40 kills and 31 errors on 130 total attempts. Tusculum hit .252 with 51 kills, 19 errors, and 127 total attacks. The Pioneers led the Wasps in assists (48-38), service aces (7-6), digs (52-48), and total blocks (10-4).
EHC won five of the first six points of the match before TU went on a 9-1 run. The home team caught up but down 23-19, the Wasps still had fight in them. A kill, ace, and block brought EHC within one, but a service error handed TU the set-point. The Wasps rattled off four-straight scores to usurp the leading Pioneers, highlighted by three unforced errors by Tusculum.
Set two was the best offensive frame for the Pioneers, hitting .360, behind a 5-for-7 output by Thompson. Jackson also took part in half of the set's four blocks. TU was able to earn an early edge with five of the first six points. Tusculum maintained a comfortable edge throughout, improved by a 6-1 run field by Wasp errors. The Pioneers pulled away using blocks and kills by the front row to even the match.
Tusculum started fast but Emory & Henry responded quickly and fiercely. The Wasps even pulled ahead at 20-19, however, consecutive kills by Thompson swung the edge back to TU. Two unforced errors and a pair of kills from Foster clinched the overall lead. The middle blocker needed six swings for four kills with two blocks as well.
Emory & Henry was held to a negative hitting percentage (-.032) in the night's final set, while Tusculum fired on a .323 rate to close out the match. With only one lead change and two ties, the Pioneers gave the Wasps no chance to force a fifth set. Burrowes (5) and Thompson (3) combined for over half of Tusculum's 15 kills in the frame to finish strong. At 24-12, the home team scratched back three tallies, but Burrowes closed the night with emphasis.
Tusculum stays on the road as the Pioneers trek to the Rollins Invitational in Winter Park, Florida this weekend (Sept. 8-9). TU starts the four-match tournament with an 11 a.m. contest against Bluefield State on Friday morning.
