NEWBERRY, S.C. --- The Tusculum men's volleyball team swept Newberry in the first-ever meeting between the programs on Tuesday (Mar. 24). TU hit a program-record .544, upping the mark for the second time in 10 days.
The Pioneers (12-8, 1-3 IVA) shut down the Wolves (5-12, 0-2 IVA) by scores of 25-12, 25-13, 25-20.
Lucas Nieves led Newberry with 11 kills on a .409 hitting percentage. Greyson Crumpton dished out 13 assists, while Tibulo Smith landed the lone service ace for the Wolves. Both Nieves and Alexander Arbez scooped up digs, as the solo blocks came from Nieves and Crumpton.
Aiden Roper landed 13 kills on a .476 clip to head up the Tusculum attack. Reef Mathis went for eight kills, ahead of Morgan Makovec (6), Riley Wisniakowski (5), Donovan Nye (3), Adam Svendsen (3), Caleb Hammann (3), and Tyler Morrison (1). Wisniakowski tallied 31 assists, while he and Nye added a pair of aces each. Defensively, Patrick Gresham finished with a match-high six digs, as Makovec and Wisniakowski took part in three rejections.
Newberry hit .125 as a team with 27 kills and 17 errors on 80 total attempts. Tusculum hit .544 with 42 kills, five errors, and 68 total attacks. The Pioneers led the Wolves in assists (41-26), service aces (5-1), digs (25-18), and total blocks (8-2).
Tusculum led the first set from start to finish, recording 15 kills on 17 swings (.824) with three aces. The Pioneers won the first four points, but Newberry crept back to a 6-4 deficit. TU used a pair of three-point bursts to lead 19-9. The visitors finished the set on a 6-3 margin, capped off by a Makovec kill to clinch the frame.
Newberry's first lead of the night came with the first point of the second set. Tusculum quickly regained its edge at 3-2, maintaining the advantage for the remainder of the frame behind a .500 clip and four solo blocks. Down 2-1, the Pioneers went on a 7-1 spree. The Wolves got back within reach, but three consecutive rejections aided TU's 12-5 lead, which proved to be the lowest margin over the remainder of the set. A 19-11 lead quickly became 23-11 after a pair of Newberry miscues, a kill by Wisniakowski, and a Makovec block. Back-to-back errors clinched the set for TU at 25-13.
The final frame was the most competitive of the match, featuring five ties and two lead changes. Newberry had its best set with a .250 hitting percentage and landed its only ace. Wisniakowski netted the first point of the set, but the Wolves rattled off four-straight scores. Tusculum responded with five-straight, capped by a Nye ace, to lead 6-4. Newberry forced a tie at 6-all, 12-all, and 13-all, but Roper's kill gave TU the lead for good, which kicked off a 4-0 spurt. Roper took over late with three kills in a four-point span and a solo block to earn the Pioneers an 18-14 advantage. The sophomore was also responsible for the final three Tusculum points in the match.
Tusculum is home for its next two contests: King (Apr. 3) and Newberry (Apr. 7).
