GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Despite holding a slight 7-6 blocking edge, the Newberry College volleyball team could not overcome a 2-0 deficit in the match and dropped a 13-25, 23-25, 26-24, 19-25 decision to the Tusculum Pioneers tonight.

Tusculum came out with most of the energy in the first set, hitting .486 throughout the game. The Wolves were never able to grab a lead in the set and quickly fell into a 1-0 hole.

The theme for the second set was much the same as the scarlet and gray could not find the energy that their counterparts seemed to have in abundance. The defense of the Wolves shored up and allowed the Pioneers to hit only .175 but with the Wolves swinging at a clip of .058 percent it wasn't enough to overcome Tusculum as the visitors dropped the second set.

Looking to extend the match beyond three sets wasn't easy at the beginning of the third set for Newberry. Tusculum looked to be in complete control jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead before the Wolves discovered their offense. A run by the Wolves tied the game and the teams would trade points and runs with neither one being able to gain the upper hand until the waning moments of the set.

With things tied at 24-24, Newberry rattled off the next two points to trim Tusculum's lead to one.

The deciding set though was ultimately controlled by the home team. The Wolves were able to stay close but could not overcome a commendable defensive match by Caitlyn Dean of the Pioneers who racked up a match-high 36 digs and the trio of Pioneers who tallied double digits in the kill column.

Samantha Parrish (Angola, Ind.) led the way for the Wolves with 13 kills and completed the double-double with 12 digs.

Kara Harris (Grandview, Texas) chipped in eight kills with an assist, two service aces and 16 digs.

Anne Staudinger (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Sarah Scott (Redding, Calif.) rounded out the main scoring threats for the Wolves by gathering seven kills each.

Senior Brianna Blakely (Houston, Texas) accumulated a team-high 17 digs and in the process became the third Newberry player in the 2010 season to reach the 1,000 dig mark in her career joining her fellow seniors Harris and Nadia Andrade (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) in the Newberry record book. The 5-foot-5 setter becomes the eighth player in Newberry history to accomplish the feat and also dished out nine assists and a service ace in the match.

Blair Browning (New Lexington, Ohio) paced the Wolves in the assists category with 30 and completed a double-double of her own with 10 digs.

The Wolves will end their SAC road schedule tomorrow as they travel to Mars Hill to take on the Lions. The match is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.