GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum men's volleyball team made quick work of Kentucky State on Tuesday (Mar. 10) night in the teams' first-ever meeting.
The Pioneers (9-6) swept the match over the Thorobreds (5-16) by scores of 25-6, 25-17, 25-14.
Jackson Moffitt had nearly half of Kentucky State's kills with five. Jamal Gray dished out 10 assists, while Moffitt landed the lone service ace. Gray scooped up six digs, as Jalen Finch contributed in two blocks.
All 14 of Tusculum's available players participated in the match. Donovan Nye led the way with eight kills on a .333 hitting percentage. Aiden Roper added five kills, while Reef Mathis (3-for-4), Caleb Hammann (3-for-3), and Ian Johnson finished with three kills each. Rounding out the scoring were Tyler Morrison, Brody Morrison, Morgan Makovec, and Adam Svendsen with two kills apiece. Brody Morrison dished out 15 assists, while Riley Wisniakowski aided in 10 kills. The younger Morrison also landed three aces, the first three of his collegiate career. Roper scooped up a team-best five digs, just ahead of Patrick Gresham's four. In just one set of action, Makovec was credited with four block assists.
Kentucky State hit -.183 as a team with 12 kills and 25 errors on 71 total attempts. Tusculum hit .243 with 30 kills, 12 errors, and 74 total attacks. The Pioneers led the Thorobreds in assists (30-12), service aces (9-1), digs (30-22), and total blocks (11-4).
In arguably one of the best sets in program history, Tusculum led the 25-6 set from start to finish. The Pioneers hit .500 with 11 kills, while holding Kentucky State to just one strike. TU's defense also registered 6.5 blocks in the frame. Tusculum started the set on a 13-2 run before exploding to a 22-4 advantage. The remaining two points for the Thorobreds were on Pioneer service errors, while TU had kills from Roper and Mathis.
The second set was the best for KSU, hitting a match-high .000 with nine kills. The frame featured four ties and three lead changes, all within the first 10 points. Down 5-4, the Pioneers went on a 7-1 rally to retake and hold the advantage. The Thorobreds began a slight run towards the end of the set (22-17) but three-straight scores from TU sent the match to the third frame.
In the night's final set, there were two ties and two lead changes. Tusculum landed five aces, while Kentucky State finished with only two kills. The Pioneers went on mini-runs throughout the frame and kept a comfortable edge. Kentucky State's attack error at 20-11 stretched TU's advantage to a high of nine, until three-straight scores to close out the match.
Tusculum heads to Virginia to partake in a tri-match at Randolph-Macon on Saturday (Mar. 14). The Pioneers will face Randolph at 3 p.m. before taking on the hosting Yellow Jackets at 5 p.m.
