Tusculum's Caitlyn Dean (photo by Rick Elliott)

Dean sets digs records, Pioneers beat Anderson 3-1

Dean's 2,166 career digs are the most in school history

Box Score

ANDERSON, S.C. --- Tusculum’s Caitlyn Dean became the program’s all-time leader in digs in the Pioneers’ 3-1 South Atlantic Conference win at Anderson Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.

Dean also established a new school four-set match record with her 47 digs in Saturday’s match as the Pioneers rallied from a set down to post their third win in a row.  Tusculum won the match by scores of 24-26, 25-23, 28-26, 25-10 to improve to 16-6 overall and 10-4 in the league to remain in second place in the SAC standings.

Dean has accounted for 2,166 digs in her three seasons at Tusculum, breaking the previous mark of 2,134 digs posted by Alexis Rowles from 2004-07.  Dean’s 47 digs also breaks the four-set record achieved by Rowles in 2004 and by Dean in 2010.

Sam Underwood recorded a double-double with 16 kills and 19 digs, while Megan Hasse followed with a dig of her own with 15 kills and a dozen digs.  Setter Ashley Sarmiento accounted for 51 assists and 10 digs, while Danae Stauffer finished with 12 kills and three digs.  Kassie Voelker and Alyssa Raterman posted eight kills each, as Voelker also contributed two service aces, seven digs, three blocks and a .389 hitting percentage.

AU’s Shannon Gillespie tallied 13 kills and 16 digs, while Victoria Wehrmann finished with 12 kills and 16 digs.  Tiffany Rowe added 12 kills and two blocks, while setter Megan Cautero dished out 44 assists and 15 digs in the loss.

The Trojans scored the first three points of the set and hit .302 in the opening set as Anderson won the first set 26-24.  There were 10 ties and four lead changes in the first frame.

Tusculum came out hot in the second set and moved out to a 10-6 lead following a Hasse kill.  But Anderson bounced back with a 12-4 run, including four straight to take an 18-14 advantage, capped by a Hailey Pittman kill.  TC answered with a 6-2 spurt to tie the set at 20-20 on a Stauffer kill.  Gillespie gave the Trojans a 22-21 lead on her kill, but TC got kills by Stauffer and Raterman and an AU error on set point to win 25-23.

The third set was a marathon thriller as the momentum swung back and forth on several occasions.  Tusculum jumped out to an 11-5 lead following a kill by Hasse.  After an Anderson timeout, the Trojans would work into the deficit and trim the TC lead to 15-14 and would eventually take the advantage at 21-20 on a Rowe solo block.

TC called a timeout and got kills by Voelker and Stauffer to retake the advantage at 22-21. Neither team would enjoy a one-point lead down the stretch as Wehrmann gained AU set point following her kill to make it 24-23.  But a Anderson service error and a Stauffer kill moved the Pioneers back out in front 25-24. Wehrmann would gain side outs on her next two kills to tie the set at 26-26.  But a Raterman kill and a Voelker solo block on the final two points sealed an important 28-26 win in the third to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Tusculum carried that momentum in the fourth set as the Pioneers raced out to a 6-0 lead to start the frame and would lead wire-to-wire to a 25-10 decision to win the match.

TC will close out its three-match road swing on Tuesday night as the Pioneers travel to arch rival Carson-Newman for a 7 p.m. match in Jefferson City, Tenn.

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