CHARLOTTE, N.C. --- The Tusculum men's volleyball team began its 2026 season with a three-set loss to Queens University of Charlotte on Friday (Jan. 10) night.

The Pioneers (0-1) dropped the opener to the Royals (1-0) by scores of 25-22, 25-17, 25-22.

Casey Maas led the match with 12 kills and five digs for Queens. Caleb Williams dished out 23 assists, while Kaden Saurer accounted for four service aces. Defensively, Reed Shuey was credited with a pair of block assists.

Reef Mathis finished with a career-high eight kills, just ahead of Aiden Roper (7) and Cooper Sadleir (6). The Canadian freshman hit on a .417 clip in his debut. Rounding out the offense were Caleb Hammann and Adam Svendsen with three kills and Morgan Makovec with two. Riley Wisniakowski registered 20 assists and was one of three Pioneers to record an ace, joined by Mathis and Sadleir. Defensively, Wisniakowski added a match-best six digs. At the net, a trio for TU were credited with three blocks: Sadleir, Hammann, and Makovec.

Queens hit .333 as a team with 40 kills and 13 errors on 81 total attempts. Tusculum hit .192 with 29 kills, 14 errors, and 78 total attacks. The Royals led the match in assists (34-27), service aces (7-3), and digs (28-20), while the Pioneers tallied more blocks (6-4).

The 2026 edition of the Tusculum squad will make its home debut on Thursday, January 15 against Emmanuel. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.