HUNTSVILLE, Ala. --- The Tusculum University men's beach volleyball team began its journey for a title at the AVCA Collegiate Beach Championships on Saturday (Nov. 4).

Tusculum rounds out its inaugural season on Sunday (Nov. 5) at the AVCA event with a pair of matches, facing Westcliff (10 a.m.) and Lincoln Memorial (2 p.m.). The Pioneers could advance to the single-elimination bracket with favorable results in pool play.

Match 1: Webber International 5, Tusculum 0
The Pioneers pushed the Warriors to a decisive third set in a pair of flights, but the Florida team came out victorious in each matchup.

In their first appearance as a pair, the top flight of Adam and Noa Svendsen fell 21-10, 21-15.

At No. 2, Shane O'Neal and Thiago Da Silva dropped a 21-9, 21-10 showing.

In the middle of the pack, Kevin Blankenship and Joel Dubinsky had a third set forced, but came out on the wrong side (21-17, 16-21, 9-15).

Colby Landry and Morgan Makovec fell by identical 21-12, 21-12 scores at No. 4.

In the fifth flight, Tristan Blake and Jabes de la Cruz also needed a third set, but could not hold off the Warriors (21-16, 15-21, 14-16).

Match 2: Stevenson 3, Tusculum 2
Landry and Makovec rallied in the third set to score a point for Tusculum, while the No. 3 duo of Blankenship and Dubinsky pulled off a reverse sweep.

Down 14-15 in the decisive frame, the No. 4 pairing rattled off three-straight points to pull out the victory (21-18, 16-21, 17-15).

Blankenship and Dubinsky outlasted their opposites in the tightest of contests to finalize the score: 19-21, 30-28, 15-13.

The Svendsen brothers dropped their nightcap 21-11, 21-15, while the O'Neal/Da Silva combination fell 21-17, 21-16.

Blake and de la Cruz lost their No. 5 flight 21-15, 21-18.