GUGLIELMANA Landon Guglielmana left his home in California this summer to become a part of the first Limestone College men’s volleyball team.

The 18-year-old freshman never got a chance to play in a volleyball match for the Saints.

Guglielmana was killed in a single-car accident Monday morning when the 2003 Ford Explorer he was driving overturned on I-26 at 1:15 a.m. in Enoree. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:38 a.m. by Spartanburg County Coroner’s Investigator J. Dwayne Corn.

Limestone College officials said Guglielmana was returning to the Limestone College campus after visiting family in Melbourne, Fla., over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Guglielmana was traveling westbound on I-26 when his Ford Explorer went into the grass in the median, said Lance Cpl. Kathy Hiles of the South Carolina Highway Patrol. Guglielmana overcorrected and drove off the right side of the road where the sport utility vehicle overturned, the officer said. He was wearing a selt belt, police said.

Limestone College students mourn the loss of freshman Landon Guglielmana during a memorial service Monday. Guglielmana died in a car accident early Monday on I-26 in Enoree while returning to Limestone College after visiting relatives in Florida over the Thanksgiving holiday. (Ledger photo / SCOTT POWELL) A female passenger in the vehicle, Shelby Webb, was transported to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, Hiles said.

Webb is a freshman softball player at Limestone College. She is from Hilliard, Fla., and had gotten a ride back to campus with Guglielmana.

A native of Madera, Calif., Guglielmana was among the first group of players to join Limestone’s inaugural men’s volleyball team. He was the valedictorian of his senior class at Madera South High School where he was the school’s career leader in digs, aces and kills on the volleyball court.

Limestone College men’s volleyball coach Tim Loesch said Guglielmana perfectly fit the profile of players he wants in the program.

“Landon was an outstanding student and a great athlete. He was a great person with a friendly, outgoing personality,” Loesch said. “Landon made a lot of friends and was respected by his professors and coaches. He tried to live his life by his faith and always tried to do the right thing. He will be sorely missed.”

Guglielmana was a math major. He became actively involved in the college’s Christian Education and Leadership Program this fall. He was a volunteer with Meals on Wheels and was active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Limestone College Chaplain Rev. Ron Singleton grew to know Guglielmana quite well while working with students in the Christian Education and Leadership Program. The college program prepares students to become effective Christian leaders through spirituality classes and mission work.

“Landon was truly a special person and will be greatly missed,” Singleton said. “He believed in doing things from the heart. He had a joy about him and an infectious personality. He was a fine young man with boundless potential.”

A brief memorial service was held for Guglielmana on Monday at noon at Limestone College. A larger memorial service will be held Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the Timken Gymnasium on the Limestone campus.