DUE WEST, S.C. --- The Tusculum University men's volleyball team was held off balanced by the Erskine block in the season opener on Friday night (Jan. 6), falling on the road in three sets.
The Flying Fleet (1-0) swept the Pioneers (0-1) by scores of 25-17, 26-24, 25-18.
Erskine was led by Kacper Rybarczyk's 11 kills on a fiery .421 hitting percentage. The outside hitter was the lone player in the match to reach double-figures in kills. Francisco Pomar dished out 30 of the Flying Fleet's assists. Rybarczyk, Jason Sall, and Wiktor Ankurowski landed the trio of service aces for the home team. Libero Alex Ruiz dug up six attacks to lead the back row defense. At the net, Pomar was credited with five total blocks (three solo, two assists), just ahead of Jon Fuller's four (one solo, three assists).
Tusculum had four players record six kills in the loss: Shaphar Grant, Deklan Wingo, Jake Whyte, and Colby Landry. Freshman Tristan Blake earned the start as the team's setter, recording 22 assists in his collegiate debut. Landry (3) and Wingo (1) were responsible for the Pioneer aces. Defensively, Wingo and Blake accumulated five digs apiece, ahead of four by both Whyte and Arthur Della Nina. Up front, three Pioneers got the credit. Whyte (one solo, two assists) and Grant (three assists) each finished with three total blocks, followed by Wingo's two assists.
Erskine hit .228 as a team with 32 kills and 14 errors on 79 total attempts. Tusculum hit -.034 with 26 kills, 29 errors, and 88 total attacks. The Flying Fleet led the match in assists (32-24) and total blocks (18-8), while the Pioneers had the edge in both service aces (4-3) and digs (27-25).
Tusculum continues the weekend road trip with a stop at Emmanuel on Saturday (Jan. 7). The Pioneers and Lions are scheduled to meet for a 2 p.m. first serve in Franklin Springs, Georgia.