DUE WEST, S.C. --- The Tusculum men's volleyball team dropped the second half of its home-and home with Erskine on Wednesday (Jan. 24) night.

The Pioneers (1-5) were tripped up by the Flying Fleet (3-2) by scores of 25-19, 25-19, 25-22.

Edgerrin Austin recorded 16 kills on a .500 hitting percentage to head up the Erskine offense. Francisco Pomar distributed 40 assists, while Austin landed a pair of aces from behind the service line. Defensively, Alex Ruiz scooped up a match-high nine digs. Three Flying Fleet defenders recorded two block assists: Wiktor Ankurowski, Pomar, and Shayo Asiru.

Deklan Wingo tallied seven kills for Tusculum, followed by both Morgan Makovec and Jaden Bramhall, who went an identical 5-for-9 from the middle with no errors. Kevin Blankenship (3), Jabes de la Cruz (2), Adam Svendsen (2), Tristan Blake (1), and Colby Landry (1) rounded out the scoring. Blake was responsible for 22 assists, while Makovec and Svendsen recorded the Pioneer aces. Libero Taylor West finished with a team-high seven digs. At the net, Makovec was credited with two block assists.

Erskine hit .380 as a team with 45 kills and 15 errors on 79 total attempts. Tusculum hit .236 with 26 kills, nine errors, and 72 total attacks. The Fleet led the Pioneers in assists (43-24), service aces (4-2), and digs (33-18), while the teams tied with four total blocks each.

Tusculum hosts nationally-ranked and undefeated Charleston on Sunday (Jan. 28) in Pioneer Arena. First serve between the Pioneers and Golden Eagles is scheduled for 2 p.m.