FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga - Men's volleyball took on the North Greenville University Crusaders on Friday night. The Lions defeated the Crusaders in five sets, 3-2. The win moves their record to 6-10 overall and 4-6 in Conference Carolinas. 

The first set began with four straight points for the Crusaders. With NGU leading 10-6, the Lions put together an 11-5 run that gave them the lead, 17-15. The score proceeded to go back and forth until the set was tied at 23 points a piece. Back to back points for the Lions gave them the set, 25-23. 

The second set was tied early on at five points, but momentum for NGU propelled them into the lead, 11-6. The Lions fought to stay in the set, but eventually the Crusaders ran away with it, 25-15. 

It was the Lions with the lead in the beginning of the third set, 10-6. Emmanuel continued to hold a four point lead until the score was 21-16. Kills from seniors Aleksa Lakic and Don Thompson, along with an ace from sophomore Harrison Coelho, led to the Lions taking the set, 25-21. 

The fourth set was controlled early on by the Crusaders, who got off to a 14-7 lead. Despite kills from Lakic, Thompson, and sophomore Jayden Young, the Lions gave up too many points to stay in the set, eventually losing it 25-18. 

With the teams tied at two sets a piece, the game was sent into a tie-breaker fifth set. Thompson opened the set with a kill for Emmanuel. Young followed with a kill of his own, but errors for both teams tied the score at three. Then, with Emmanuel leading 5-4, the Lions put together an electric four point run that had the audience on their feet. After a kill from Thompson, the Lions recorded three consecutive blocks, shutting down the offense effort of the Crusaders. Freshman Carlos Guerrero was involved in all three blocks, while sophomore Henrik Westhoff assisted in two of them and Lakic in the third. The thriller of a set continued as the Crusaders' leading scorer, Jackson Gilbert, went back and forth with both Lakic and Thompson. But the Crusaders weren't able to recover from the deficit as Lakic and Thompson led the Lions to a 14-9 lead. The victory was completed by Young, whose aggressive attack could not be defended by the Crusaders. 

The Lions were led by Aleksa Lakic, who finished with 20 kills, 9 digs, 4 blocks, and 2 service aces. Don Thompson followed with 18 kills, 7 digs, 1 block, and 1 ace. Henrik Westhoff recorded 46 assists, 7 digs, and 5 blocks. Carlos Guerrero had a career high 8 blocks. 

Next up, men's volleyball will host Belmont Abbey College on Saturday, March 19 at 3:00pm. 

How to Follow

Stay tuned to goeclions.com, as well as Lions social media platforms - @ATHLETICSatEC on Twitter, @EmmanuelAthletics on Facebook and @emmanuelathletics on Instagram, for complete coverage of everything Lions.