BRISTOL, Tenn. — The Tusculum men’s volleyball team earned its first win of 2024, pulling off a comeback against in-state foe King on Thursday (Jan. 18) night. TU hit a combined .471 in the final two frames to claim victory.
The Pioneers (1-3) came from behind to smother the Tornado (0-3) by scores of 19-25, 25-20, 28-30, 25-22, 16-14.
Deklan Wingo finished with a season-high 21 kills on a .405 clip. Colby Landry added 18 kills, followed by Morgan Makovec (13), Kevin Blankenship (10), Jaden Bramhall (5), and Tristan Blake (1). Bramhall went an errorless 5-for-7 on his swings from the middle. Blake dished out a career-high 56 assists as the setter, while Makovec (2) and Bramhall (1) were responsible for the TU aces. Taylor West upped his collegiate-best to 15 digs to lead the Pioneer defense. Both Landry and Blake rounded out their double-doubles with 11 and 10 digs, respectively. Wingo added five rejections (two solo, three assists), joined by Makovec and Bramhall with four total blocks.
King hit .229 as a team with 60 kills and 25 errors on 153 total attempts. Tusculum hit .293 with 68 kills, 24 errors, and 150 total attacks. The Pioneers led the match in assists (62-57), digs, (53-52), and total blocks (11-7.5), while the Tornado recorded more service aces (6-3).
Tusculum returns home to Pioneer Arena to host North Greenville on Tuesday (Jan. 23) at 6 p.m.
