GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's volleyball team finishes up the 2021 season this week by hosting Limestone for Senior Night (Apr. 13) and participating in the Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) Tournament (Apr. 16-17).
Tuesday night's winner will be the No. 3 seed and is set to face the host, No. 2 Queens, while the loser takes the fourth slot. The No. 4 seed opens the event against No. 5 Alderson Broaddus and the winner will take on the top seeded Lincoln Memorial in the nightcap of day one. The bracket and tournament information can be found here.
RECAPPING THE WEEK
Tusculum (3-11, 2-5 IVA) played a pair of four-set matches, falling to Queens and beating Alderson Broaddus.
Shaphar Grant led the Pioneers in both kills (19) and hitting percentage (.406) across the week's eight sets. Caleb Slater (15), Hunter Walck (15), Tom Kait (11), and Dane Loup (11) all reach double-figures in the kill category. Lucas Blanco averaged eight assists per set for a total of 56. Reese DeElena stepped in for a second-best 13. Slater and Colby Landry each registered a pair of service aces, while Walck and Shaun Kampshoff landed the remaining two. Taylor Phillips and Blanco notched double-digit digs with 15 and 13, respectively. At the net, Grant and Slater had their way defensively. Grant is credited with nine total blocks (two solo, seven assists) and the latter racked up seven total (three solo, four assists).
In the national rankings, Tusculum is 15th in the NCAA in aces per set (1.29). Individually, Grant is 23rd in hitting percentage (.339).
LOOKING AHEAD
Limestone (11-9, 2-3 IVA) will vie against TU for the third seed in the upcoming IVA tournament. The Saints have five players that have surpassed 100 kills on the season: Geraldo Rivera (185), Spencer Saint-Eloi (163), Francisco Salinger Cenzual (153), Jon Igo (111), and Matt Anetrella (108). Igo ranks 18th in the NCAA with a .355 hitting percentage. Christos Gkitersos averaged 9.51 assists per set (19th nationally), totaling 723 thus far. Saint-Eloi has landed a team-best 23 aces, just ahead of 19 by Salinger Cenzual. Michal Podgorzak leads the NCAA with a dig per set rate of 3.42, collecting 250 through 73 sets played. At the net, Igo is fifth in the country with a block average of 1.25 and is credited with 85 total (20 solo, 65 assists). As a team, the Saints are ranked within the top-20 in seven statistical categories: digs per set, blocks per set, opponent hitting percentage, attacks per set, kills per set, assists per set, and win-loss percentage.
Links to live stats and video for Tusculum University athletic events can be found through tusculumpioneers.com.
ATTENDANCE POLICIES
At this time, no fans of visiting teams are permitted at any Tusculum University venue. The full TU athletic attendance policy can be found here.
Admission information for the IVA Tournament is forthcoming and can be found on the championship central page.
