HARROGATE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum women's volleyball team earned its 13th sweep in 2023, including four-straight, after its blanking of Lincoln Memorial on Halloween night.
The Pioneers (16-6, 12-3 SAC) clipped the Railsplitters (9-16, 3-12 SAC) by scores of 25-12, 25-15, 25-21.
Abigail Kesler led Lincoln Memorial with seven kills, while Amanda Lisi distributed 11 assists. Katie Bedel is credited with the lone Railsplitter service ace. Megan Maier finished with a team-best nine digs as Maggie Sanderson had a hand in three of the four blocks for the home team.
Emiah Burrowes tallied 16 kills on a .414 hitting percentage, followed by eight from Martina Foster on a .583 clip. Aly Freeland (7), Whitney Thompson (2), Olivia Crowl (2), Madison Adkins (1), and Lauren Weaver (1) rounded out the scoring. Adkins dished out 28 assists, while she, Freeland, and Perri Wood landed the aces. Freeland and Caley Sosnowski led the team with 10 and nine digs, respectively. Foster headed up the net defense with six total blocks (one solo, five assists). Thompson added five blocks (one solo, four assists), just ahead of three assists by Burrowes.
Lincoln Memorial hit .011 as a team with 23 kills and 22 errors on 90 total attempts. Tusculum hit .242 with 37 kills, 14 errors, and 95 total attacks. The Pioneers led the Railsplitters in assists (32-19), service aces (3-1), digs (39-37), and total blocks (12-4).
With an early 2-1 deficit, Tusculum ran out a 6-1 spurt, highlighted by five kills from Foster. TU hit .478 in the frame, while at the net, Thompson had a hand in all three blocks. Holding a six-point lead (16-10), the Pioneers rattled off six straight scores. Three of the final four points also went the visitor's way, including back-to-back strikes by Burrowes.
The TU defense was the start in set two. Tusculum had six blocks, holding LMU to a -.333 hitting percentage. The Railsplitters managed only three kills to 13 attack errors. Burrowes led the way with six kills, while Foster is credited with four rejections at the net. The Pioneers began with a pair of four-point runs, sandwiching two LMU scores. Lincoln Memorial kept the deficit around five before a 6-0 spurt to put Tusculum up 22-12. The Railsplitters responded with three points, but the Pioneers closed out with three of their own.
Lincoln Memorial had its best hitting frame at .222, but Tusculum responded with 17 digs. Offensively, Burrowes added a set-high seven kills. The Pioneers set the tone for the sweep by starting with a 6-0 edge, forcing a Railsplitter timeout. The lead topped out at nine (18-9) on a Freeland strike but LMU's 6-1 spurt nearly sent the match to a fourth set. Freeland clinched the match with her third kill of the frame.
Tusculum wraps up its extended road trip this weekend, starting with Newberry on Friday (Nov. 3). First serve from Eleazer Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m.
