SANTA BARBARA, Calif. --- The Tusculum men's volleyball team began its 2025 season with a three-set loss to No. 15 California State University Northridge on Thursday (Jan. 9) at the UCSB ASICS Invitational.

The Pioneers (0-1) dropped the opener to the Matadors(1-0) by scores of 25-14, 25-18, 25-20.

Jalen Phillips led CSUN with 11 kills, while Lorenzo Bertozzi and Stilian Delibosov finished with nine and eight, respectively. Donovan Constable tallied 31 assists and seven aces. Defensively, Bertozzi and Chris Karnezis scooped up five digs. Delibosov was credited with five block assists.

Deklan Wingo headed up the Tusculum attack with nine kills. He was joined by Joel Dubinsky (5), Morgan Makovec (3), Caleb Hammann (3), and Donovan Nye (3) in the offensive category. In his debut, Hammann went 3-for-6, averaging a .500 hitting percentage. Kevin Blankenship assumed the role of setter, dishing out 21 assists. Makovec was responsible for the lone Pioneer ace, while Dubinsky, Taylor West, and Nye each recorded a pair of digs. Makovec also led the defense at the net with five total blocks (one solo, four assists).

CSUN hit .403 as a team with 43 kills and 14 errors on 72 total attempts. Tusculum hit .190 with 23 kills, 12 errors, and 58 total attacks. The Matadors led the match in assists (40-22), service aces (10-1), and digs (20-9), while the Pioneers finished with more total blocks (9-6).

Tusculum continues its stay in Santa Barbara, facing No. 3 UC Irvine on Friday (Jan. 10) at 5 p.m. EST.