GREENVILLE, Pa. -- The Thiel College men's volleyball team split two matches in day one of the 2013 Thiel College Tournament at Beeghly Gymnasium. The Tomcats defeated Eastern Mennonite in three sets and were defeated by Carthage in three sets.

Game one saw the Blue and Gold defeat the Eastern Mennonite Royals (1-1) in straight sets (25-23, 25-17, 25-18) to win their second straight match to start the season. Senior opposite hitter Dante McCoy (Reading, Pa./Holy Name) led the Tomcats with 12 kills and junior setter Corey Hamilton (Meadville, Pa./Maplewood) had a team-high 24 assists in the three-set win over the Royals. Thiel also had nine and half team blocks, with junior middle hitter Michael Whitelock (Pittsburgh, Pa./Schenley) leading the way with three and a half blocks.

Match two saw the Tomcat's fall to the #2 team in Division III, according to AVCA's preseason poll, Carthage College (3-1) in three sets (17-25, 19-25, 20-25) to drop their season record to 2-1 overall. McCoy once again led the way for Thiel, crushing home nine kills while Hamilton added 30 assists and two solo blocks.


Junior outside hitter Andrew Pohlod (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) added seven kills, while sophomore outside hitter John Turner (Cambridge Springs, Pa./Cambridge Springs) and Whitelock added six kills each.


The Blue and Gold's will be back in action tomorrow at 10 a.m. when they take on Penn State Behrend, followed by a match against Penn State Altoona at 12 p.m.