GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University beach volleyball team has four events, a home doubleheader, two South Atlantic Conference weekends, and a pair of dates with Carson-Newman as part of its 2026 regular season slate. The Pioneers also have the honor of hosting the league's tournament in mid-April.

Emily Kalmink goes into year two as head coach in 2025 with five returners, eight freshmen, and five transfers, including a multi-sport athlete.

In 2025, the Pioneers went 15-15 overall and 6-4 in conference play. TU finished second in both the inaugural South Atlantic Conference Carolinas regular season and tournament and won the bronze bracket at the AVCA championship event for a third time in program history.

Tusculum begins 2026 at the EKU/Morehead Opening Weekend Tournament in Loveland, Ohio, running from February 20-21. The Pioneers will face Liberty, Morehead State, Austin Peay, and Eastern Kentucky.

TU opens the season against the Flames, but it will be counted as an exhibition as Liberty fields a club beach team.

Morehead State and Tusculum faced off twice last season, with the Eagles winning both to stretch the series lead to 6-3. MSU went 14-12 overall and 7-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). The Eagles finished in a tie for second in the OVC and claimed the No. 3 seed at the conference tournament. They were upset twice to end their campaign.

Austin Peay took the lone meeting in 2025 over Tusculum, extending the series lead to 4-1 in the Governors' favor. The Govs finished 3-22 overall (0-10 ASUN) and were the No. 8 seed in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. The team was shut out twice to be eliminated on day one of the event.

Eastern Kentucky won the only meeting last season over the Pioneers to take over the series lead (4-3). EKU went 14-14 (3-7 ASUN) to earn the No. 6 seed in the ASUN Championship. The Colonels went 1-2 at the event, tallying the program's first conference tournament victory.

Lynchburg comes to Greeneville on March 4 for a doubleheader with Tusculum. The Pioneers swept the first-ever meeting between the programs last season. The Hornets went 13-13 overall, advancing to the Division III quarterfinals at the AVCA Tournament in their third season of competition.

Tusculum will host its first-ever South Atlantic Conference Carolinas weekend at the Hardin Park Beach Volleyball Complex on March 6-7. Hardin Park is a six-court complex under the supervision of the Town of Greeneville Parks & Recreation Department and host of the 2024 and 2025 NAIA Beach Volleyball National Invitational. 

The Pioneers will face Emmanuel, Catawba, Erskine, and Wingate in the two-day event. Tusculum will play the remaining SAC team (Carson-Newman) at a later date.

Tusculum went 3-1 against Emmanuel last season, meeting for the first time in program history. The Lions finished 18-20 (5-5 SACC), reaching the conference tournament semifinals as the No. 3 seed. EU also went 3-3 at the AVCA event, including a loss to TU in the bronze bracket finals.

The Pioneers have won all nine meetings against Erskine in the series history, with four coming in 2025. The Flying Fleet went 9-24 (3-7 SACC) to claim the No. 5 seed in the league tournament and ending with a loss to Tusculum in the AVCA bronze bracket semifinals. 

Tusculum beat Wingate four times last season as well. In their first year of competition, the Bulldogs went 9-26 (2-8 SACC) to earn the final seed in the conference tournament and finished 0-5 at the AVCAs.

Catawba managed its first win over the Pioneers in the series history, but Tusculum leads 6-1 overall. The Catawba Indians went 12-10 (4-6 SACC) and were the No. 4 seed in the SACC Tournament. They failed to advance out of pool play and did not attend the AVCA event.

From March 13-14, Austin Peay is hosting the Stache Bash in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Pioneers will face Chattanooga twice and have rematches against the Govs and Wingate.

The Mocs have won all four contests over TU since 2022. Chattanooga went 26-6 (10-0 OVC) and are the two-time defending Ohio Valley regular season and tournament champions. The Mocs advanced to the NCAA Championship as the No. 16 seed, falling to the top overall seed UCLA.

Carson-Newman hosts Tusculum on March 18 in Jefferson City. The Pioneers lead the all-time series 14-6, but the Eagles won all three meetings in 2025 to lessen the margin. C-N won both the conference regular season and tournament titles behind a 22-6 (10-0 SACC) record. The Eagles went 2-3 at the AVCA tournament.

The Pioneers head to Florida for the Battle on the Bay, hosted by Eckerd, running from March 20-21. Tusculum will face Lindenwood, Palm Beach Atlantic, the hosting Tritons, and Florida Southern.

TU and Lindenwood have never faced one another. The Lions went 15-14 last season, reaching the semifinals of the OVC Championship as the No. 4 seed in their third season of competition.

The Sailfish have won all four of the previous contests against Tusculum. Palm Beach Atlantic went 21-12 and entered the inaugural Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Championship as the No. 2 seed. PBA fell in the title match to the eventual national champion, Tampa.

Tusculum and Eckerd are tied at 3-all in the six meetings between 2019-2024. The Tritons went 8-24 overall and entered the SSC tournament as the fifth seed. EC fell in the second round of the silver bracket at the AVCAs to close out the year.

TU holds the 4-2 advantage over Florida Southern in the series history. The Mocs went 24-13, entering the SSC event as the No. 4 seed. FSC rallied late to win the silver bracket at the AVCA Championships.

The Pioneers host a rematch with Carson-Newman on March 25 for Senior Day. Tusculum will honor five for their contributions to the program: Jordyn Anderson, Sylvia Liszewski, Hannah Marsh, Sofia Richmond, and Brynn Smith.

Tusculum closes out March (27-28) at the UNA Shoals Beach Bash. The Pioneers will face Austin Peay for a third time, EKU in a rematch, Spring Hill, and host North Alabama. 

TU leads the series over the Badgers by a one-game margin (2-1) in the limited meetings. SHC went an even 15-15, reaching the national quarterfinals with a strong showing at the AVCAs.

North Alabama won the lone match over Tusculum in 2023. The Lions went 18-15 (7-4 ASUN), entering the league tournament as the No. 4 seed. UNA went 2-2 at the event to close out its season.

The second SAC weekend of the season will take place on April 3-4 in Due West, South Carolina, home of Erskine College.

The second edition of the South Atlantic Conference Carolinas Beach Volleyball Championship will be held April 10-11 at Hardin Park Beach Volleyball Complex in Greeneville, Tenn. Last season, the tournament was conducted using a three-team pool play, single round-robin format. The top two teams from each pool crossover to play in the semifinals. The winners of the final two matches meet for the championship match.

The AVCA Small College Championship in Gulf Shores, Alabama is the season-ending destination for the Pioneers once again. The three-day tournament will run from April 17-19 at the Gulf Shores Public Beach. The tournament is the largest collegiate beach volleyball event in the country with 36 teams competing in nearly 500 total matches during the championship weekend. The event brings together the top beach teams in the country from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and the NAIA. A champion is crowned in each division along with recognition of All-America/All-Tournament teams. The championships also include a Pairs Challenge event for participating teams. In six years at the tournament, Tusculum has gone 17-20, won the bronze bracket three times, added a semifinal finish in the silver, and seventh overall in 2024.