Lion Win Streak Halted by Tusculum

MARS HILL, N.C.-- Tusculum took down Mars Hill's volleyball team in five sets Tuesday night in Stanford Arena to halt the Lions' winning-streak at six.

The Lions started fast with a 25-22 victory, but Tusculum rallied to take the next two sets 25-21 and 25-20. Mars Hill took the fourth set 25-11 to push the match to the deciding set, but Tusculum prevailed 15-9. Marissa Wixson set career-highs with 25 kills and 29 digs and added four blocks to lead MHU. Danae Stauffer led the Pioneers with 24 kills and added 17 digs. Mars Hill falls to 8-5 overall and 6-3 in South Atlantic Conference matches. Tusculum improved to 11-5 overall and 6-3 in SAC matches.

Toni Cole and MaryKate Griffin each notched 13 kills for Mars Hill. Courtney Worthington set the Lion offense with 50 assists. Maggie Murphy added 27 digs.

Megan Hasse added 19 kills for Tusculum. Caitlyn Dean paced the defensive effort with 28 digs. Hannah Berling notched a double-double with 56 assists and 12 digs.

Mars Hill started the first set hot with an 8-2 run, but Tusculum was able to battle back and tie the score several times. A late three-point run on kills by Cole and Wixson and a Pioneer attack error gave MHU a 24-21 lead. After a kill by Stauffer, Wixson notched the final kill to make the score 25-22.

The Pioneers led by as many as six in the second set. The Lions were able to cut it to one on a number of occasions, including a kill by Wixson to bring the score to 22-21. TC ran off the final three points on kills by Jaida Allen and Megan Hasse and a Lion attack error. Amber McClure had two kills in the set for MHU.

A four-point run in the third set turned  a 16-14 Lion lead into a lead Tusculum would not relinquish. The Pioneers were able to capitalize on three attack errors during the run, with Voelker adding a kill. TC won the set 25-20.

Mars Hill scored 13 straight points with Murphy holding serve in the fourth set to build a 22-8 lead. Murphy notched two aces during the run. Cole added three kills, while Victoria Kaiser added another. A kill by Cole sent the match to fifth set and gave MHU the 25-11 win.

With the final set knotted at six-apiece, the Pioneers got hot to outscore MHU 9-3 the rest of the way. Three straight on two kills by Hasse and another by Stauffer made it 9-6. A kill by Wixson stopped the rally, but a pair of attack errors extended the TC lead to 12-7. Mars Hill got no closer than four the rest of the way as the Pioneers closed it out 15-9.

Mars Hill will look to rebound when they host Coker for a 7:00 p.m. match this Friday, Oct. 8. It will be the first time the two teams have met since the Cobras joined the SAC.