WINTER PARK, Fla. --- The Tusculum University women's volleyball team came out fiery on the first day of the Rollins Invitational, sweeping both Bluefield State and the host Tars on Friday (Sept. 8). The Pioneers hit over .340 in both matches and a miniscule five attack errors in each contest.
The Black and Orange (6-1) returns to the Florida campus to round out the Rollins event on Saturday (Sept. 9) against Chadron State and Florida Tech at 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., respectively.
Match 1: Tusculum 3, Bluefield State 0
The Pioneers kicked off the two-day event against the Big Blue (2-4) with a straight-set sweep (25-15, 25-11, 25-16).
Allyson Martin led the designated home team with seven kills, Kateryna Dashevska dished out 18 assists, while Aydan Dalak landed the lone service ace for Bluefield State. Veronica Butler (13) and Dashevska (11) each reached double-figures in digs, while the only block was a solo rejection by Imani Stokes.
In the team's most efficient outing of the season (to that point), Tusculum tallied only five attack errors. Emiah Burrowes (9) and Aly Freeland (8) led the kills column, joined by five strikes from both Martina Foster and Whitney Thompson. Recording the remaining kills were Isabella Biesterfeld (3), Lauren Weaver (2), Mya Lewis (1), Bailey Parker (1), McKayla Willey (1), Hayley Stull (1), and Christina Jackson (1). Of the 11 that are credited with a kill, seven went errorless. Madison Adkins and Lewis combined for 30 assists with 19 and 11, respectively. Freeland led at the service line with three aces, followed by Adkins and Caley Sosnowski with two apiece. Burrowes, Foster, and Lewis landed one each. Three Pioneers collected at least 10 digs in the match: Burrowes (12), Freeland (10), and Sosnowski (10). Adkins and Lewis were one and two digs away, respectively, from a double-double. Foster was credited with a trio of block assists, while Thompson notched a pair.
Bluefield State finished the match with a .065 hitting percentage with 25 kills and 18 attack errors in 107 total attempts. Tusculum totaled 37 kills, five errors, and 93 swings for a .344 hitting clip. The Pioneers led the Big Blue in assists (36-25), aces (10-1), digs (56-47), and total blocks (4-1).
Bluefield State won two of the first three points, but Tusculum responded with five-straight to take over the lead. The TU edge extended to eight after consecutive kills by Freeland and unforced Big Blue errors. Steadily increasing, Tusculum lead upped to 11 (20-9) on the serve of Burrowes, including an ace from the graduate student. Foster provided the final point to claim the first set of the match. Freeland went 5-for-8, while Amiranee Au tallied all six of her digs in the frame.
Freeland continued her hot start with a 3-for-4 showing, as Burrowes added another five. The Pioneers hit a fiery .441 (17-2/34) and the TU defense recorded 27 digs, highlighted by eight from both Sosnowski and Burrowes. For the second consecutive set, Bluefield State took an early 2-1 lead, but Tusculum rattled off a 10-2 run. The Big Blue managed to shrink the TU advantage to five (16-11), however, the next nine went to the Pioneers with Adkins at the service line and two aces.
Bluefield State had its most points in the match, but Tusculum had no issue closing out the match. Foster went 3-for-3 on her swings with two block assists. As part of the six team aces, Freeland recorded three-straight after Foster's opening kill. The Pioneer offense had only one attack error in the frame. Down 19-9, the Big Blue made a late rally, winning seven of 11 points. Yet, the early damage was enough for Tusculum to collect two more scores and the match win.
Match 2: Tusculum 3, Rollins 0
TU wrapped up day one with a sweep of the hosting Tars (4-2) by scores of 25-22, 25-17, 25-22.
Lana Gerard (13) and Jadyn Troutman (11) combined for over half of Rollins' kills, while Natalie Horsley dished out 38 assists. Adriana Lopez landed a pair of aces, joined by Troutman and Horsley in the column. Troutman rounded out her double-double with a match-high 12 digs. At the net, Emma Begley and Troutman teamed up for all three blocks.
Freeland and Burrowes each recorded seven kills to lead the Pioneer attack. Foster (6), Thompson (6), Jackson (5), Parker (4), and Adkins (2) were errorless in their attempts. Adkins notched an additional 18 assists, while Lewis tacked on nine. Lewis racked up three more aces, joined by Foster (2), Sosnowski (1), and Taylor Sanders (1). As the libero, Sosnowski scooped up a team-best seven digs, ahead of Freeland's six. Foster and Parker were also stalwart in the second matchup of the day, credited with five and four blocks, respectively. Burrowes and Jackson had their hands in three apiece.
Rollins finished the contest with a .200 hitting percentage with 42 kills and 22 attack errors in an even 100 total attempts. Tusculum totaled 37 kills, five errors, and 87 swings for a .368 hitting clip, improving the season-best output made earlier in the day. The Pioneers led the match in aces (7-4) and blocks (10-3), while the Tars tallied more assists (41-25) and digs (40-29).
The beginning of the night's last match was tightly contested as neither team had more than a one point edge until Burrowes put TU up 7-5. Rollins responded with three-straight to retake the lead before Tusculum recorded a 7-2 spurt. The Tars retaliated to take a 21-20 advantage but a Thompson kill subbed in Sanders for the serve. Kills by Freeland and Parker preceded the ace, earning TU set-point. Thompson scored the 25th point, while Parker was in on all four Pioneer blocks in the frame.
Tusculum led set two from start to finish, hitting .414 in the frame (13-1/29). Foster took part in all three blocks and Lewis tallied all three aces. The first two Pioneer points were courtesy of Foster, assisted by Adkins. Rollins put pressure on the visitors at 14-13, but TU scored seven in a row, highlighted by Lewis' three-straight service points. Each team tacked on a few more before Burrowes clinched the set.
Looking to avoid the sweep, Rollins forced seven ties and four lead changes. However, the Tusculum front of Parker, Jackson, and Thompson went a combined 6-for-11 with no errors. In a tight battle, the teams remained within a two-point span until an unforced error by the Tars handed the Pioneers a 12-9 edge. Keeping its hopes alive, Rollins rattled off a 7-1 spurt to take an 18-15 lead. However, TU wanted to finish out its second sweep of the day, scoring its own 7-1 rally. The Tars wriggled back to a 24-22 deficit, but Freeland closed out the night with a kill.
