Volleyball Loses at Tusculum
The Tusculum College volleyball team defeated Mars Hill University 3-1 at Pioneer Arena Tuesday night in South Atlantic Conference action.
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tusculum College volleyball team defeated Mars Hill University 3-1 at Pioneer Arena Tuesday night in South Atlantic Conference action.
Tusculum (19-8, 14-6 SAC) won the match by scores of 25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22 to sweep the season series over the Lions (15-10, 12-8 SAC) while remaining in sole possession of second place in the league standings.
Marissa Wixson led all players with her 15 kills as she finished the match with 66 total attempts to go along with a match-high 25 digs. MaryKate Griffin added 13 kills and seven digs, while Toni Cole posted a dozen kills with her eight digs and two blocks. Maggie Murphy finished with 23 digs. The MHU setter duo of Courtney Worthington and Hannah Wilson finished with 24 and 16 digs, respectively.
Caitlyn Dean finished with 20 digs. Danae Stauffer recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs. Sarmiento finished with a double-double, accounting for 15 assists and a dozen digs, while Kassie Voelker tallied nine kills, four digs, four blocks and three service aces.
Tusculum never trailed in the opening set and used a 5-0 run late in the frame to claim a 25-22 win. The Pioneers tallied a .244 hitting percentage as Stauffer contributed four kills while Victoria Ashley finished with three in the set.
Mars Hill trailed 10-6 in the second set, but went on a 12-2 spurt, including seven unanswered points at the start of the run as the Lions won 25-19 to even the match at a set apiece. Griffin recorded five kills, while Cole added four. Maggie Murphy led the defensive charge as she recorded 12 of her 23 digs on the night in the second set alone.
TC fought off a 14-11 deficit in the third frame, going on a 7-0 run that was sparked by three consecutive Stauffer kills as the Pioneers led 18-14. A TC service error and back-to-back aces by Mars Hill's Victoria Kaiser brought the Lions back to within one (18-17). The Lions would tie the set at 22-22 following a TC attack error, but the Pioneers claimed the final three points, including a Voelker kill on set-point to win 25-22 and take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
Tusculum bolted out to an 8-1 lead in the fourth set, including seven straight points on Megan Hasse's serve. MHU would score four in row to trim the TC lead to 8-5, but after a Tusculum timeout, the Pioneers went on a 5-0 run to take a 13-5 advantage following a Voelker ace. TC led by as many as 17-10 and held a 23-17 advantage late in the set. The Lions made things interesting going on a 5-1 run, while fighting match point three times. But TC freshman Jaida Allen close out the match with her fourth kill of the contest to win the frame 25-22 to seal the victory.
Mars Hill finished the match with 113 digs as three players eclipsed 20 digs each, including Wixson (25), Murphy and Christen Nicholson (20).
Tusculum's Ashley posted seven kills, while Allen added four blocks, including three solos. Hasse and Rachel Garnett tallied six kills each. Hasse also contributed 14 digs and a service ace for the home team.
Mars Hill will close out the regular season this weekend with a pair of SAC road matches. The Lions will play at Coker College on Friday night at 7 p.m. and then face Wingate University on Saturday at 5 p.m.
