FRANKLIN SPRINGS, GA - Women's volleyball hosted Georgia College on Thursday night. After five sets of wild momentum swings, it was the Lions who topped the Bobcats, 3-2. The victory moves Emmanuel's record to 7-10 overall.
The Bobcats scored the first four points of the game, jumping to an early lead. Things continued favoring GC until they eventually led by six points, 16-10. However, two kills each for senior Aleksandra Hamuda and sophomore Emily Hanson were combined with a pair of errors from the Bobcats, suddenly tying the set at 16. With the set tied at 23, a kill from senior Taylor Roberts was answered by the Bobcats, bringing the score even at 24. A kill by sophomore setter Gabrielle McGlamery got the Lions to 25, but a service error once again tied it up. The set was finally finished when Hamuda recorded back-to-back kills, giving the Lions the set after the dramatic comeback, 27-25.
The teams traded points in the second set until GC starting slowly pulling away, 16-12. The advantage stayed with the Bobcats as their lead reach five points, 20-15. However, the Lions didn't go down without a fight. Trailing 23-18, Emmanuel scored five-straight as senior Kaitlyn Henderson recorded a pair of service aces. But the eccentric comeback came to an end as the Bobcats scored back-to-back, giving them the set, 25-23.
Leading 7-6 in the third set, the Lions went on an 8-2 run to increase their advantage, 15-8. However, the Bobcats responded by slowly chipping away at Emmanuel's lead until it was only one, 23-22. The Bobcats proceeded to score three straight to win the set, 25-23.
The extreme momentum swings continued into the fourth set as Emmanuel led 10-5 in the early going. But a 10-3 run for the Bobcats quickly gave them the lead, 15-13. The Lions battled their way back on top, but it was short-lived as the Bobcats cruised to a six-point run as Emmanuel struggled offensively. The Lions suddenly faced a five-point deficit late in the set as it looked like the Bobcats were going to win the match. Trailing 22-17, Emmanuel suddenly found a spark of life as Emminger recorded a pair of kills en route to the Lions pulling within a point, 22-21. Two straight for GC got them to match point, needing only one to win the game (24-21). However, with Henderson serving the Lions charged to an incredible five-point run that gave them the set, 26-24.
The culmination of the massive momentum swings throughout the match resulted in a tie-breaker set. With the Lions leading 5-4, the Bobcats pieced together yet another run, scoring four times in a row to take the lead, 8-5. But the momentum swung back towards the home squad as they mounted a charge that gave them the lead, 10-9. With the score tied at 11, a kill from Roberts was followed with two kills from Emminger as the sophomore stepped up when needed most. Then, with the Lions at set point, Roberts and McGlamery combined for a block that gave Emmanuel the set, 15-11, and the match, 3-2.
Alaina Emminger led the way for the Lions. After recording 6 kills in the fifth set, she finished with a career-high 19 for the night to go along with 3 digs. Aleksandra Hamuda followed with a career-high of her own, finishing with 18 kills and 15 digs in a double-double performance. Taylor Roberts had 11 kills, along with a season-high 8 blocks and 6 digs. (also a regular-season best for Roberts, only outdone by her outstanding 14 block performance in the 2019 conference semi-final match)
Gabrielle McGlamery notched another double-double, including a career-best 53 assists and 15 digs. She also had 4 kills and 3 blocks. Senior Victoria Alexander was the fourth Lion of the night to have a career-best performance, recording 29 digs. However, it doesn't end there. Kaitlyn Henderson also had a career-high with 5 service aces in a record breaking night.
Next up, women's volleyball will resume conference play with a match against the Erskine Flying Fleet on Friday at 7:00pm.
For more on Emmanuel College athletics, visit goeclions.com.
