GREENWOOD, S.C. --- The Tusculum University women's volleyball team split day two of the Redderson Invitational, hosted by Lander, winning the nightcap over Clark Atlanta. The victory marks the first for Pioneer head coach Hannah Barrett in the collegiate ranks.
The Black and Orange (1-2) rounds out the Redderson Invitational on Saturday (Sept. 7) with a 10 a.m. contest against North Greenville.
Match 1: Florida Tech 3, Tusculum 0
The Pioneers started off the second day of the tournament with a three-set loss to the Florida Tech Panthers (1-0) by scores of 25-20, 25-16, 25-12.
For Florida Tech, three players reach double digits in kills: Cordelia Kearns (13), Chiara Patelli (11), and Maria Jesus Munoz. The trio all hit over .440 as well. Kenzie Delacher dished out 20 assists, while Kearns led the way with three service aces. Both Delacher and Kearns scooped up nine digs apiece. At the net, Lilian Muszynski and Irene Kitson were credited with three total blocks each.
Martina Foster led the Pioneers with seven kills on a .500 hitting percentage. Addison McLarty (6), Whitney Thompson (5), McKayla Willey (5), Olivia Crowl (2), Jordyn Roderick (1), and Madison Adkins (1) also aided the offense with kills. Adkins also contributed 19 assists and one of the two Pioneer aces. Taylor Sanders landed the other ace while leading TU with six digs as the starting libero. Both Crowl and Thompson were credited with one solo and one block assist. Foster tallied the remaining solo rejection.
Florida Tech finished the match with a .372 hitting percentage with 48 kills and 13 attack errors in 94 total attempts. Tusculum totaled 27 kills, 11 errors, and 79 swings for a .203 hitting clip. The Panthers led the Pioneers in assists (43-22), service aces (9-2), digs (37-24), and total blocks (6-4).
Match 2: Tusculum 3, Clark Atlanta 1
TU finished out the day with a four-set win over the Clark Atlanta Panthers (0-2): 24-26, 25-14, 25-15, 25-8.
Clark Atlanta's Shynique McGee registered 13 kills in the loss. Deja Jackson notched 20 assists, while Makenzie Austin was responsible for all three service aces for the Panthers. Sawyer Arbuckle (12), McGee (11), and Austin (10) each reached double figures in digs. At the net, Madison Spells was credited with five total blocks (one solo, four assists).
Tusculum got career nights from Willey (17) and Roderick (13) as they reached double-digit kills for the first time as a Pioneer. Additionally, Willey hit .484 and Roderick averaged .400. In her first action at TU, Katherine Perrin added nine kills, followed by Crowl's seven. Foster (4), McLarty (1), Audrey Tribble (1), and Thompson (1) contributed to the offense. Adkins dished out a season-best 37 assists, while Amiranee Au landed a career-high four aces. Sanders had a personal-high with 16 digs, ahead of 14 by Adkins for her second double-double of the year. Both Adkins and Foster were credited with three total blocks.
Clark Atlanta finished the contest with a .118 hitting percentage with 36 kills and 22 attack errors in 119 total attempts. Tusculum totaled 53 kills, 16 errors, and 125 swings for a .296 hitting clip. The Pioneers led the match in assists (46-34), service aces (14-3), and digs (55-51), while the Panthers tallied more total blocks (8-7).
In total, Tusculum's 14 aces, the fourth-most in a four-setter in the TU record book, came from seven Pioneers.
Clark Atlanta edged out Tusculum in the first set in a back-and-forth battle, featuring seven ties and four lead changes. The Panthers held the advantage most of the way before the Pioneers made a late run. TU rattled off a handful to comeback from a five-point deficit to tie the set at 23-all. Tusculum fought off two set-points before CAU strung together back-to-back scores to take the match lead. All four of Foster's kills came in the first frame as Sanders scooped up six digs.
The Pioneers carried over the momentum into the second set, firing at a .300 clip while holding the Panthers to an even rate and only six kills. Willey and Perrin combined for eight kills alone (four each), joined by Roderick with an additional three. TU maintained an early edge before leaving CAU in the rearview mirror, closing out on a 17-6 run, highlighted by five-straight to end the set.
Au's three aces in a four-serve span set the tone, while Roderick had the set of her career with six kills. The Pioneers were down 3-2 before Au subbed in to serve and Tusculum would not relent the lead granted to them by her arm. The advantage grew to seven (17-10) before the Panthers chipped into it. After a well-timed timeout by Barrett, the Pioneers would proceed to win eight of the next nine points.
Set four was all Tusculum. The Pioneers outhit Clark Atlanta .591 to .034, featuring an errorless 13 kills on 22 attempts. It marked the first frame of the night that the Panthers did not record a block, meanwhile Foster had two solo rejections on her own. Only four players were credited with a kill for TU: Willey (7), Roderick (3), Perrin (2), and Crowl (1). CAU got out to a 3-1 advantage before Tusculum went to work, winning 24 of the final 29 points. The Pioneers had a span of eight-straight points, served up by Jordyn Anderson.
