NEWBERRY, S.C. - Freshman Jessica King was a nightmare for Tusculum inside. The freshman recorded a match-high 14 kills to lead Newberry to its fourth straight win 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-23) over Tusculum on Saturday afternoon.

The Pioneers had no answer for King (Los Angeles, Calif.), who hit .500 for the match.

"Jess was key for us today," head coach David Nicholson said. "We needed a big performance from someone and she gave us exactly what we needed."

This Newberry team looks a whole lot different than the team that started the season 2-7 in the South Atlantic Conference. The Wolves have gone 4-2 in the SAC since the poor start.

"It's about growing up," Nicholson said. "It took the vast majority of the season but my freshmen are sophomores now. There's no better time than the present for a streak."

Newberry gave up four consecutive points to fall down 15-11 in set one but answered back with a 5-1 run to knot the score at 16. A Tusculum ace made it 23-23 but a bad set and an ace by Lindsey Hollingsworth (Charleston, S.C.) gave Newberry the set.

The Wolves showed their toughness again in set two. After flying out to an 11-5 lead, the Pioneers went on an 11-3 run to grab a 16-14 lead. Perhaps the Newberry of old would have folded, but the Wolves stood tall staying point for point with the Pioneers. Amanda Soper's kill gave Newberry set point and a block by Soper (Simi Valley, California) and Madison Schultz (Decatur, Ind.) gave Newberry a two-set lead.

Newberry fell down 6-3 in the third, but weathered the storm again scoring five consecutive points after a Nicholson timeout. King led the run with four kills. Freshman Lauren Prachar (Fort Wayne, Ind.) had an ace sandwiched between King's kills. Kills by Soper and Hollingsworth gave the Wolves set point. Tusculum showed a little fight of their own fighting off five match points before Blair Browning (New Lexington, Ohio) put the match away.

The Wolves will have their senior day on Tuesday against Augusta St. and it will be the team's final home match of the season.

Newberry Notes

* The Wolves are beginning to emerge out of a muddled pack of South Atlantic Conference teams looking to make the tournament.
* Newberry sits alone in sixth place with a magic number of two to clinch a tournament berth. This means any combination of Anderson SAC losses or Newberry SAC wins adding to two assures a tournament spot.
* Today marks the first four game winning streak of the season for Newberry.
* Sophomore Samantha Parrish (Angola, Ind.) is 78 kills behind Priscila Sales'all time single season record of 418 kills.
* Hollingsworth's nine digs (427 total) leave her 27 digs short Aubrey Mosley's single season digs record (454).