DUE WEST, SC - Michael Michelau helped the Fleet recover from a slow start, and Roberto Perez came on strong down the stretch to push the Fleet past Belmont Abbey, 3-1, and in to the Conference Carolinas Finals.  

The Fleet, hosting the tournament for the 2nd straight year, got off to a very sluggish start.  The Fleet managed to stay in the game until Belmont Abbey pulled away to a 3 point lead at 19-16.  Erskine could not overcome a .121 hitting percentage and 5 attack errors and would lose the set 25-23.  Michelau led the Fleet with 5 kills in the set.

Errors again plagued the Fleet in the 2nd set where they committed 11 attack errors; however, they were able to overcome those errors and a .000 hitting percentage to win the 2nd set 26-24.  Michelau once again paced the Fleet, this time with 8 kills in only 12 chances.  

The 3rd set was closely contested with the teams trading ties at 8-8, 14-14, and 20-20.  In this pivotal spot, Perez finally came to life.  In the next 4 Fleet points, he would register 2 kills and a one handed block that would bring the Belk Arena crowd to its feet, and give the Fleet the lead at 24-21.  They would win the set 25-22 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.   Perez and Michelau registered 5 kills each and David Grandy had 12 assists.   

In the 4th set, the Fleet offense would hit another gear.  They would quickly open up a 5-1 lead and stretch it to a 7-2 lead on a Perez kill that forced a Belmont Abbey timeout.  The Erskine lead would continue to grow to 15-7 on consecutive blocks by the Fleet.  The lead would reach its largest as the Fleet won the set and match at 25-16.  The Erskine offense would hit a scalding .619 in the set with only 1 attack error.  For the match, Michelau had 22 kills while Perez registered 14 kills.  Grandy dished out a match high 40 assists.  

The Fleet are set to take on the Bulldogs of Barton College tomorrow evening in the Conference Carolinas Championship in Belk Arena.  Game time is set for 6:30 pm.