GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's beach volleyball team upset Erskine and defeated Emmanuel to move on to Saturday's (Apr. 11) South Atlantic Conference Carolinas semifinals, hosted at the Greeneville Beach Complex.
With the two wins, Tusculum (11-18) takes the top spot in Pool B and will play the second place finisher in Pool A (Catawba) in the second semifinal on Saturday (Apr. 11) at 11:30 a.m. The winners of semifinal No. 1 between Carson-Newman and Erskine will meet the victor of the Tusculum/Catawba match for the championship slated for 1:30 p.m.
Match 1: No. 3 Tusculum 3, No. 2 Erskine 2
The Pioneers timed their first win over Erskine in 2026 perfectly, upsetting the Flying Fleet in pool play.
Jordyn Anderson and Solene Roussel fought back from an early deficit to sweep the No. 3 flight by scores of 21-17, 21-19 to earn TU the first point of the match.
Erskine tied the contest with a victory at the fifth flight over Siri Aasgard and Ally Doty by a 21-13, 21-15 margin.
All-conference second team honorees Brynn Smith and Sylvia Liszewski held on at the 2's for a 21-18, 22-20 win.
The match was clinched by Tusculum's Cooper George and Dasha Nikolaeva at the No. 4 slot. The pair reverse swept their Erskine opposites by an 11-21, 21-15, 15-12 result.
The Flying Fleet notched their final score by a reverse sweep at the top flight over Hannah Marsh and Sofia Vega Barrantes: 16-21, 21-18, 15-12.
Match 2: No. 3 Tusculum 4, No. 6 Emmanuel 1
The Pioneers were assured of a semifinal berth with a victory and left no doubt over the Lions.
Marsh tied the program career wins record (74) in the 21-8, 21-4 demolition of the No. 1 flight with Vega Barrantes.
Smith and Liszewski also won with ease at the 2's with a 21-7, 21-12 decision.
Aasgard and Doty got back on track with identical results at the No. 5 slot to clinch the day two berth: 21-17, 21-17.
Anderson and Roussel won a tightly-contested reverse sweep at the 3's to add insurance to the victory by scores of 13-21, 21-18, 15-13.
Emmanuel's lone score came at the fourth flight over George and Nikolaeva, edging out the Pioneer duo by a 22-20, 16-21, 15-11 margin.
