Bristol, TN - The Emmanuel Lions men's volleyball team had their first match of the season against conference rival King University tonight. In a 5 set thriller, Emmanuel came out on top.
Set one started well for the Lions with 3 straight aces from freshman setter Caleb Bonaventure. In an effort to come back, King responded with 4 points of their own to take back the lead. It was a close side-out game up until about the 17th point when King was able to pull away bringing the score to 19-23. A big kill from Alex Barbosa gave the Lions hope, but they were stopped short 20-25.
King opened up the second set with an ace, but Emmanuel responded the next point with a block. A couple errors on both teams kept the score tied before two big kills from Alex Barbosa gave the Lions a lead. Emmanuel was dominating at the net, however 4 service errors and a couple blocking errors allowed King to stay in the set. At 13-13 Emmanuel began to pull away again with 4 consecutive points, forcing the Tornados to call a timeout. Returning to the court, the Lions continued to deliver the kills, causing some frustration for King. Emmanuel closed out the second set 25-19, evening out the score 1-1.
Momentum was rolling for the Lions as they cruised into set number three. Gilberto Cervantes started out strong with 2 kills for the Lion and they kept the lead for the remainder of the set. The Lions cruised to the end of the set until a kill by Jordan Funk closed out the set 25-23.
In a must win fourth set, King picked up the intensity, with multiple aces in the beginning bringing the Tornados up 5-8. The Lions fought back, but remained behind on the score board due to another string of missed serves. At 9-15 the Lions began to edge back into the game with a kill and ace from Gilberto Cervantes, but King pulled away once again, forcing the Lions into a timeout at 14-19. When action continued back on the court, King had a couple back to back blocks and a four big kills to close out the set 15-25, forcing the match to a 5th set.
In a thrilling 5th set King took an immediate lead but Emmanuel responded with 6 straight points taking the lead 8-4. King pushed back with two points of their own at 8-6, but Emmanuel stayed ahead, needing just 2 points to win, forcing King into the last timeout of the game. A kill from Steven Peruyero set up the match point, then Alex Barbosa ended it with his 22nd kill of the night.
The Lions were led by Alex Barbosa with 22 kills and 8 digs. This victory marks the first win for the Lions putting them at 1-0 overall and 1-0 conference. Lions continue action tomorrow at Lees-McRae at 12:00 pm.
