MARS HILL, N.C. --- The Tusculum women's volleyball team left with the win in a five-set battle at Mars Hill on Tuesday (Sept. 19). Of note, Madison Adkins came one kill shy of a rare triple-double (nine kills, 48 assists, 20 digs), while Aly Freeland finished with 75 attack attempts, second-most in program history.
The Pioneers (8-4, 4-1 SAC) rebounded against the Lions (6-3, 2-2 SAC) in a five-setter by scores of 18-25, 25-15, 25-18, 24-26, 15-10.
For Mars Hill, nine players recorded at least one kill, led by 11 from Katilyn Grant. Jordan Schmucker dished out 32 assists, while Jada Cannon registered the lone service ace for the Lions. Four MHU players reached double-digit digs: Cannon (27), Laela Jimenez (25), Caroline Barber (13), and Schmucker (11). Grant had a hand in half of the Lions' blocks with three (one solo, two assists).
Freeland collected a career-high 23 kills, the first 20-plus kill outing in her four collegiate seasons. Emiah Burrowes also notched double-figures in kills with 16. As part of her historical outing, Adkins added a career-best nine kills on a .444 hitting percentage. Isabella Biesterfeld recorded a season-high seven kills, followed by Bailey Parker (6) and Martina Foster (4). Additionally, Adkins was credited with a personal record 48 assists, while Burrowes (2), Foster (2), Adkins (1), and Freeland (1) landed the TU aces. Five Pioneers scooped up double-digit digs: Caley Sosnowski (26), Freeland (23), Adkins (20), Burrowes (18), and Amiranee Au (14). Both Sosnowski and Adkins' total marked a career-high. Foster tallied five block assists, while Adkins tied her best of three block assists.
Mars Hill hit .091 as a team with 46 kills and 28 errors on 198 total attempts. Tusculum hit .176 with 65 kills, 27 errors, and 216 total attacks. The Pioneers led the Lions in assists (62-43), service aces (6-1), digs (111-101), and total blocks (7-6).
The first two sets were led start-to-finish by the winning team. Mars Hill had its highest hitting frame of the contest (.244) in Tusculum's lowest (.043). MHU took the first three points and escalated its lead to 14 (22-8) before TU made its late 7-1 run. But the Lions had enough of an edge to earn the first set victory.
The Pioneers responded accordingly, holding the home team to a -.097 clip (6-9/31). Adkins went 4-for-5, while both Biesterfeld and Burrowes added three kills each. Foster tallied two aces and two blocks to help tie the match. Tusculum continued its hot streak to shoot out to a 10-2 edge in set two. The Lions managed to close the gap to four but more runs by the Pioneers evened the contest.
Set three is when Freeland exploded for eight kills, while Burrowes recorded three kills and eight digs. For the first time in the match, there were ties (7) and lead changes (3). Mars Hill had a few early leads but five-straight points behind Au's serve. The TU advantage climbed with more bunch scoring by Tusculum as the Lions were unable to string together enough consecutive points to rally.
The fourth frame was the by far the most competitive with 14 ties and seven lead changes as overtime was needed to decide a winner. Burrowes (7) and Freeland (6) combined to land 13 of the Pioneers' 17 kills in the set, while Sosnowski collected 10 digs. The first three scores went the way of the Pioneers but the Lions kept the frame within reach. The conference foes traded spurts, but ill-timed miscues by Tusculum sent the match into a decisive fifth set.
The final set was Tusculum's from start to finish. The offense clicked for a .321 rate, while the defense held the Lions to a mere four kills on 27 swings. Freeland and Biesterfeld contributed four and three kills, respectively, while Parker efficiently added two kills on three attempts. Mars Hill was forced to call a timeout down 5-1, but it did not slow down TU enough. The second pause was asked for after three-straight Biesterfeld kills to put the Pioneers up 10-5. Tusculum needed just two match points to pull out the victory.
Tusculum returns to Pioneer Arena for a three-match home stand, beginning in one week (Sept. 26) against Lincoln Memorial. First serve against the in-state Railsplitters in Greeneville is scheduled for 7 p.m.
