Due West, S.C. – After playing two nationally ranked teams in Chicago this past weekend, the Erskine Men's Volleyball Team now turns their attention to two conference opponents this weekend.  Erskine plays Barton on Friday starting at 7:00 p.m. then concludes their road trip on Saturday against conference preseason favorite University of Mount Olive beginning at 2:00 p.m.

The Flying Fleet dropped their first two games of the season, losing to #2 Loyola University-Chicago 3-0 Friday night and 3-1 to #9 Lewis University Saturday evening.  In both matches, the Fleet got off to a slow start, dropping the first set by large margins.  But in each game the Fleet demonstrated remarkable poise and bounced right back, taking one set from Lewis, and losing the other four sets by just 15 points.

Sophomores Mike Kawa (Debica, Poland, Elk Grove High School) and Mike Michelau (Trevor, WI, Westosha Central High School) currently lead the Fleet with 24 and 22 kills respectively.  Freshman Roberto Perez Vargas (Dorado, P.R., Bayamon Military Academy) is third on the team with 17 kills.

Sophomore setter Corey Marks (Southwest Ranches, FL, Archbishop Edward McCarthy High School) leads the conference in assists to start the season at 10.29 assists per set.

Last season the Fleet swept the two games against Barton, winning in Due West 3-0 and 3-1 at Barton.

Barton College is off to a 1-2 start with both loses coming in conference play to Mount Olive and Belmont Abbey.  The Bulldogs won their last game against Emmanuel College 3-1. 

For the Bulldogs, junior Ladislav Lelkes currently leads the conference in blocks at 1.8 per set.  He notched seven blocks, a school record, against Belmont Abbey and added six more next day in the win against Emmanuel.  Junior Zach McCalla leads the team in kills, averaging 3.4 kills per set.

Mount Olive was selected to repeat as conference champions in the conference's preseason coaches' poll.  The Trojans are currently 1-2 overall and 1-0 in conference. 
The Trojans also played in the same tournament this past weekend as the Flying Fleet, losing both matches to #9 Lewis University and #2 Loyola University-Chicago by the same scores 3-1 and 3-0.

The Trojans main offensive weapon is senior Angel Dache, who currently leads the conference averaging 4.60 kills per set.  Junior setter Tyler Yanez ranks second to Marks in assists at 9.60 assists per set.

Friday's game may be watched live on the web at:  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/barton-college-athletics or followed via live stats at:  http://livestats.prestosports.com/barton/

Saturday's contest will also be broadcasted on the web and may be watched live at:  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mount-olive-college-athletics.  The game can also be followed via live stats at:  http://sports.moc.edu/livestats/xlive.htm