TIGERVILLE, S.C. - The Emmanuel College men's volleyball team dropped their first conference match of the season on Tuesday night against North Greenville University, 3-0. 

The Crusaders fired away in the fist set with an astounding .692 hitting percentage while EC struggled with an inferior .048. NGU left no change for EC as they cruised to a 25-13 victory.

The Lions followed up in the second set with a slightly better performance, but several runs for the Crusaders allowed them to keep their distance. North Greenville took set number two, 25-20.

In a critical third set, the Lions began to gain some momentum. After trailing 0-2, Don Thompson would put EC on the board with a kill. The Crusaders would follow with three errors, boosting EC to a 4-2 lead. After a trio of points brought the Crusaders right back in the game, EC's Aleksa Lakic would step up to the service line and dish out three straight aces to combine with two more NGU errors. The Lions now had a five point lead that they carried to the 17-12 mark. In the final plays, the Crusaders continued to pick away at EC's lead until it dwindled down to just 1 at set point, 24-23. Despite their opportunity to close out the set, NGU retaliated with three straight points including two service aces to finish off EC 26-24 and complete their sweep.

Next up, the Lions will have their season opener on Friday, January 24th against conference opponent Barton College.

For more news on Emmanuel College Athletics, visit goeclions.com.