WASHINGTON – The Gallaudet University men's volleyball team began its 2026 season here Friday evening in the Field House against two non-conference teams.

Gallaudet was shutout in the first match against Penn State Altoona, 3-0, but picked up the first set win of the season later in the evening against University of Lynchburg. The Hornets hung on to defeat the Bison in four sets, 3-1. Lynchburg defeated Penn St.-Altoona by the same 3-1 score in the other match of the tri-match.

Gallaudet (0-2) made 26 attack errors and 17 service errors in the first match of the day against the Nittany Lions (1-1). Penn St.-Altoona won 22-25, 21-25, 25-27 in a close match against GU.

The Bison were strong upfront led by sophomore middle hitter Luke McBrine (Weymouth, Mass.) who made six blocks (three solo) while sophomore Tyler Wascher (Noblesville, Ind.) tallied four blocks (two solo). McBrine and sophomore Zachary Bippus (Fishers, Ind.) led the offense with six kills each. Sophomore libero Elian Zfati (Brooklyn, N.Y.) made a match-high 21 digs.

In the nightcap, Gallaudet won the first set 25-18 before the Hornets (2-0) rallied to win the set by the scores of 17-25, 20-25, 19-25.

Wascher led the way with 15 kills to go with three blocks (two solo) while McBrine tallied five blocks (two solo). Zfati made 17 digs while sophomore setter Troy Holcomb (Fremont, Calif.) passed out 31 assists and made 13 digs in the loss. The Bison still struggled with their service game with 22 service errors and the offense was impacted with 25 attack errors.

UP NEXT
GU will next compete next weekend at the Macon Invitational where the Bison will play two matches on Friday, Jan. 30, and Saturday, Jan. 31. Gallaudet's first match will be against Shenandoah University at 6 p.m.