Tournament host Tusculum bowed out in the first round of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Tournament on Friday, and the Lady Pioneers saw their season end just shy of a 20-win campaign.

No. 4 seed Catawba swept No. 5 Tusculum 3-0, winning by scores of 26-24, 25-19 and 25-9.

The Lady Indians were narrowly the higher seed after a 9-7 run through the conference this year. Tusculum finished at 8-8, but two of their wins came by sweeping Catawba in their two previous meetings.

"It's tough. We were excited about the matchup coming in. We just got out played today," said Tusculum coach Michael Robinson. "We didn't play Tusculum volleyball. Catawba was legit today."

The first two sets were a virtual deadlock. The first one even went long. The lead changed hands three times, and the score was tied six other occasions, even at 24-24 until Catawba pulled away with a pair of points to win it 26-24.

The second set was even closer. There were five lead changes and nine ties before the Lady Indians seized control late to put it away 25-19.

That late rally really seemed to swing things Catawba's way with the Lady Indians never really being threatened in the 25-9 match deciding set.

Catawba was led by Shay Meeks with a match-best 13 kills and 26 assists.

Gina Coffaro had a double-double for Tusculum with 12 kills and 13 digs. Peyton Colclough also had a double-double with a match-leading 28 assists and 13 digs. Sam Underwood had 13 digs for the Lady Pioneers.

Despite the good numbers, once Catawba gained the upper hand by winning the second set, Tusculum didn't have a response in the third.

"We got down early in (set) three and it kind of took the wind out of our sails," Robinson said. "It's one of those things where you hope you are going to be tougher in a close match. I never felt like we were out of it by any means, but I guess our youth showed."

Youth should serve Tusculum well in the future.

The Lady Pioneers lose Coffaro, a senior all-conference honoree, but they get back not only Colclough, a sophomore, but Underwood and Bailee Price, both SAC All-Freshman Team selections.

"We are already looking forward to next season," Robinson said. "We have a great core of young players coming back. We have four signees here today. I am really looking forward to next season."

The Lady Pioneers end their season with an 18-14 record, but volleyball continues at Tusculum.

The tournament semifinals are today at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. The championship match is Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tusculum Athletic Director Frankie DeBusk said the college was happy to be selected to host the event.

"We are just very fortunate to have the facilities we have to host the South Atlantic Conference Tournament and have all the teams over here," he said. "For us to be the representatives of the South Atlantic Conference I think is just phenomenal. So far we've had some great competition, and it's going to be exciting to see how it ends."