GREENEVILLE, S.C.— The UVA Wise volleyball team couldn't seal the deal on Tuesday's matchup against the Tusculum Pioneers in Pioneer Arena, dropping the match 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-12).

Tusculum (4-1, 1-0 SAC) was able to jump on UVA Wise (0-2, 0-1 SAC) early in the first set as they logged five unanswered points, consisting of a few key kills from Carli Pigza and recent SAC Player of the Week honoree Raeley Matthews. Three attack errors in a row by the Pioneers were able to get the Cavs on the board, along with the help of blocks from Cassidy Farley and Adison Minor. Tusculum was able to secure a few blocks of their own, stunting UVA Wise's momentum and halting them at a score of 10-6. A block from Morgan Blevins, a Tusculum service error, and a Tusculum attack error allowed for a quick rally to put the Cavs within one point (10-9). Although the Cavs were able to snag six more points, Tusculum answered with silencing kills from Raven Chance and Pigza and rallied to beat the Cavs by nine points (25-16).
 
The second set saw UVA Wise trailing early against the Pioneers with the help of kills by Emiah Burrowes to put the score 3-0. The Cavs fought back to trail only by three after a Kelsey Green kill (9-6) but a powerful late run by the Pioneers left the Cavs to trail by 10 points in the final score of the set (25-15).
 
In the start of the third set, Tusculum quickly reached seven points while UVA Wise was only able to answer with two.Tusculum soon overpowered the set and held the Cavs to an 11-point deficit to make the score 20-9. A Pioneer service error, a Farley kill, and a bad set by Elise Carmichael put the Cavs at 12 points, but the margin of deficit was too extreme, and Tusculum ran home with the win (25-12).
 
Pigza of the Pioneers led the night with nine kills, and Minor led the Cavs with four. As a whole, Tusculum had a total of 33 kills and the Cavs snagged 14 kills of their own. Matelyn Gibson led her team in digs with seven, and Tusculum's Carly Sosnowski led with nine.
 
Next, the UVA Wise volleyball team will play in the North Greenville (NGU) Tournament in Tigerville, S.C. in a four-match series against Johnson C. Smith, Columbia International, Fayetteville State, and Southern Wesleyan. Action starts on Friday, Sept. 10.
 
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