SALISBURY, N.C. --- The Tusculum women's volleyball team picked up its second sweep of the week, courtesy of a well-rounded effort against Catawba on Friday (Mar. 12) night.
The Pioneers (2-1, 2-1 SAC) won the match by scores of 25-14, 25-16, 25-22 over the Indians (1-3, 1-3 SAC).
Catawba was powered by a match-high 12 kills from Allison Bryant on a .304 hitting percentage. Claire Kellum dished out 16 assists, followed by seven from Payton Medich. Bryant was also responsible for the only Catawba service ace on the night. Kellum led in digs as well with 10. Ashley Johnson finished with a team-high three total blocks (one solo, two assists.).
Both Peyton Gash and Carli Pigza landed 11 kills to fuel the Pioneer offense. Gash fired at a .476 rate, while Pigza was also efficient on a .333 clip. The setting duo of Elise Carmichael (16) and Catherine Clingan (14) combined for 30 of TU's 35 assists. The pair also finished with all six aces, Carmichael with one and Clingan with five.
Defensively, Emiah Burrowes led the way with 10 digs, just ahead of Carly Sosnowski's eight. Lydia Collins dominated at the net with five block assists and Pigza's trio was not far behind.
Catawba hit .074 as a team with 28 kills and 21 errors in 94 total attempts. Tusculum hit .196 with 35 kills, 16 errors and 97 total attacks. The Pioneers led the Indians in aces (6-1) and assists (35-28). The teams were tied with 39 digs, while the home team led in total blocks (7-6).
Raven Chance started the match off with a kill, then back-to-back kills by Pigza helped stretch the Pioneer lead to 6-2. TU continued to rattle off kills via Pigza, Burrowes, and Gash, giving the visitors a 19-11 advantage. The first block of the game came next with a tag-team denial by Pigza and Collins. Five of the next eight points went the way of the Pioneers and the set was clinched by a Gash left-handed smash.
Carmichael caught the Indians off guard to begin set two, landing her lone ace of the contest. The next two points also went to Tusculum, including a kill by senior Gabby Gray. Catawba responded with five consecutive points and was only broken up by a service error. After an Indian block, the home squad led 7-5. The Pioneers settled in and won the next seven points, including five attack errors by Catawba. Back-to-back kills by Gray extended the TU lead to 16-10. The Indians attempted a slight comeback but it was quickly squashed. The final six points went to the Pioneers, aided by a pair of Clingan aces.
As in the first two sets, Tusculum struck first, this time with a kill by Gash. With their backs against the wall and looking to avoid being swept, Catawba went on a spurt to lead 16-11. Head coach Danielle Marante called timeout to settle her troops and they responded by earning 10 of the next 12 points, surging to take the lead 19-17. The Indians took the lead once more at 21-20, but it was for the final time. Chance and Pigza combined for a block, Gash registered a kill, and multiple errors gave TU the match point. Just like the match began, Chance hammered home a kill, which was assisted by Carmichael.
Tusculum will begin a four-match homestand on Friday (Mar. 19), starting with UVA Wise at 7 p.m.
