FRANKLIN SPRINGS, GA - The women's volleyball team played Southern Wesleyan for the final match of the regular season on Wednesday. The Lions swept the Warriors, 3-0, moving their record to 17-13 overall and 13-5 in conference play. With a win over Lees-McRae, North Greenville clinched the top seed for the playoffs in the West Division. Emmanuel will now have the 2 seed, meaning they will host the quarterfinal match next Tuesday, November 16. 

The first set was tied at 11 early on. However, the Lions slowly started to control the pace as they climbed into the lead. Eventually Emmanuel took the set by eight points, 25-17. 

Kills by senior Taylor Roberts and sophomore Alaina Emminger were followed by an ace from senior Kaitlyn Henderson to give the Lions the first three points of the second set. They never looked back as they won the set comfortably, 25-13 when senior Victoria Alexander finished it off with an ace. 

The Warriors came roaring into set number three, building a large lead early on, 10-3. The Lions scored four in a row to get back in it, but followed the run by giving three back to SWU. With the Warriors leading 13-7, the Lions scored seven straight to gain a one point advantage. However, SWU responded with an 8-1 run that once again gave them a commanding lead, 21-15. With the score 22-17, Emmanuel pieced together another incredible seven point run, getting them to set point. The rally included a pair of kills by senior Aleksandra Hamuda and a pair of aces by freshman Jocelyn Martin. But the set wasn't over yet as the Warriors scored twice to tie it at 24. The momentum proceeded to flip flop as Hamuda stepped up and recorded three kills, but each one was followed with a point for the Warriors. With the set tied at 27, Martin recorded a kill before Roberts and senior Mia Cotton came together for a block, giving Emmanuel the set, 29-27, and the match, 3-0. 

Taylor Roberts and Aleksandra Hamuda led the way for the Lions, each recording 12 kills. Roberts added 5 blocks and 3 service aces, hitting .435. Hamuda finished with 4 digs and hit .417. Kaitlyn Henderson added to her impressive ace total with 3 on the night. She's now at 58 on the season and inside the top five in all of Division II.

Next up, women's volleyball will face the winner of the first round of the playoffs in the quarterfinal match on Tuesday, November 16 at 7:00pm. Be sure to come support our ladies or tune in on the Conference Carolinas Digital Network!

For more on Emmanuel College athletics, visit goeclions.com.