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Erskine College men's volleyball, with two gay players, punches NCAA tourney ticket

Erskine College, with gay players Drew Davis and Juan Varona, will play for the national championship in Chicago in two weeks.

By Cyd Zeigler
Erskine College men's volleyball team is headed to the NCAA tournament
Erskine College men's volleyball team is headed to the NCAA tournament
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Erskine College's two out gay volleyball players

Cyd Zeigler

Erskine College volleyball player Drew Davis, who struggled with reconciling being gay with the Southern Baptist Church, was outed inadvertently to one of his teammates during a Skype chat. Juan Varona was out in high school in Puerto Rico.

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Erskine College's two out gay volleyball players

In just the program's second year of existence, the Erskine College men's volleyball team earned a ticket to the NCAA championship tournament, beating Mt. Olive in straight sets to win the Conference Carolinas championship Wednesday night. Erskine boasts two gay players, Drew Davis and Juan Varona, who came out publicly on Outsports in March.

While Erskine is Div. II, they will be competing with all of the powerhouses in the country as Div. I and II are in the same national championship tournament. Only six teams are selected to go to the tournament.

"As a freshman coming into Erskine, I never ever thought I would be heading to the NCAA tournament," Davis told Outsports. "It' crazy to think that a small private school in South Carolina will be facing huge volleyball schools from all over the country. I couldn't be more proud of my team. We're more than a team though, we are a family."

Erskine will travel to Chicago for the NCAA tournament, where they started the season with a loss to current No. 1 Loyola-Chicago. Erskine has won 17 of their last 18 matches.

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