ASHLAND, Va. --- The Tusculum men's volleyball team won both ends of a tri-match hosted by Randolph-Macon on Saturday (Mar. 14). TU's win streak has reached four.
The Black and Orange (11-6, 0-2 IVA) reaches double figures in wins for the second season in a row. The Pioneers return home on Friday (Mar. 20) to host Catawba in an Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (IVA) match.
Match 1: Tusculum 3, Randolph 2
The Pioneers came back to defeat the Wildcats (13-9) by scores of 27-25, 20-25, 25-27, 25-20, 15-12.
Shamel Smith led Randolph with 19 kills on a .382 hitting percentage, just ahead of Ahmed Diallo's 17 kills on a .419 clip. Conner Maher dished out 45 assists, while Diallo and Noel Schmid landed a pair of service aces. Samuel Looney scooped up 13 digs, as Noah May and Diallo combined on both blocks for the Wildcats.
Reef Mathis had the most kills in a single-match for the Pioneers that was not named Deklan Wingo (27), hitting on a .415 clip. Aiden reached the 20-kill mark for the first time in his collegiate career while firing on a .516 rate. Morgan Makovec upped his career-best output for the second time this month, landing 17 kills (with no errors) on a .654 average. Donovan Nye (5), Riley Wisniakowski (3), Adam Svendsen (3). Tyler Morrison (2), and Caleb Hammann (1) rounded out the offense. Wisniakowski became the first Pioneer to ever record 60 assists in a match and added two aces. Mathis and Patrick Gresham tied with seven digs each, while Makovec was credited with four total blocks at the net.
Randolph finished the match with a .321 hitting percentage with 63 kills and 20 attack errors in 134 total attempts. Tusculum totaled a program-record 78 kills, 16 errors, and 154 swings for a .403 hitting clip, the new TU five-set record. The Wildcats led the match in digs (47-35), while the Pioneers tallied more assists (70-51) and total blocks (6-2). The teams tied with five service aces.
Randolph got out to a hot start as a 3-0 outset turned into a 9-3 edge. Tusculum trailed by as many as six but used a pair of four-point runs to rally for a 22-21 advantage. The teams traded blows with the Wildcats fighting off two set-points by the Pioneers. At 25-all, Makovec landed a kill, followed by an attack error by RC to win TU the opening frame.
The Wildcats led the second set from start to finish, hitting .370, despite four blocks and a .393 clip by the Pioneers. RC won the first three points once again, extending the advantage to 6-1. The teams were never separated by more than five scores throughout. Tusculum used a three-point spurt to trail by two at 15-13, but the 17-15 deficit was the closest the Pioneers came.
Set three featured a high of 13 ties and also four lead changes. Randolph won the first two points before Tusculum took the next two on service points. RC used a 5-2 stretch to regain the edge while TU went on a 5-1 spurt to lead 12-10. Down 13-11, the Wildcats retook the lead on a 5-1 run (16-14) ahead of Tusculum's 5-2 spark (19-18). Tusculum led 23-21 until Randolph finished the frame on a 6-2 rally.
Tusculum led the fourth set from start to finish to force a decisive fifth set. The Pioneers landed 21 kills on a .529 hitting percentage. TU took the first three points before getting out to a 9-2 advantage. The margin was maintained until 16-9 when the Wildcats rattled off five-straight to close the gap. Up 18-16, Mathis (4), Makovec (2), and Nye (1) landed the final points for the Pioneers.
In the shortened fifth set, the teams tied nine times and the lead was swapped five times. The teams were not separated by more than one point until 11-9. After the 9-9 tie, Tusculum went on a 5-1 run, including consecutive kills by Roper. After back-to-back errors by the Pioneers, Roper scored the final point to win the match.
Match 2: Tusculum 3, No. 20 Randolph-Macon 0
The Yellow Jackets (21-4), who are ranked 20th in the Division III poll, were swept by the Pioneers: 25-19, 25-17, 25-12.
Randolph-Macon posted a .172 hitting percentage, finishing with 34 kills, 17 attack errors, and 99 attempts. Tusculum tallied a program-record .500 clip with 45 kills and seven errors on 76 attempts. The Pioneers led the Yellow Jackets in assists (38-31), service aces (3-1), digs (37-19), and total blocks (9-3).
Davis Luck registered 16 kills for Randolph-Macon, while Thomas Eubank tallied 28 assists. Eubank also landed the lone RMC ace, as Wesley Graves and Matteo DeLuca scooped up five digs apiece. The setter also led the team with three total blocks.
Reef Mathis landed 13 kills on a .500 clip in the nightcap, just ahead of Morgan Makovec's 11 kills on 11 swings, the program's new match record. Donovan Nye (9), Aiden Roper (6), Tyler Morrison (3), Ian Johnson (2), and Riley Wisniakowski (1) rounded out the scoring. Wisniakowski distributed 31 assists and a match-best 10 digs, while Nye landed a pair of aces. Morrison contributed in four blocks.
Both lead changes in the opening set occurred within the first 12 scores, with the fourth and final tie at 1-all. Tusculum used five blocks on a match-low of .357 on the offense side. Up 15-14, the Pioneers rattled off four-straight scores. TU kept a comfortable lead and closed the set on back-to-back kills by Nye.
The only tie in the second set was at 1-1. Randolph-Macon hit a respectable .310 but the Pioneers hit a fiery .636 in comparison. TU's biggest run was a 4-0 spurt to lead 23-15, yet used a trio of three-point spurts to gain the momentum. Mathis provided the 24th point and the clincher was a Yellow Jacket service error.
In set three, the two ties and one lead change were within the first five points. Randolph-Macon hit .051 to Tusculum's .538, with the Pioneers not recording an attack error. An 8-1 spurt put TU ahead 12-4 and, at 15-9, went on a 5-0 run. Tusculum finished the frame on a 5-3 rate, with kills by Morrison, Johnson (2), and Mathis.
