FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga - The 6 seed men's volleyball team began postseason play on Thursday night against the Erskine College Flying Fleet. The Lions defeated the Fleet, 3-0. The victory will advance them to the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, April 13 to face the 3 seed North Greenville University. This marks the first postseason victory in Emmanuel men's volleyball history. 

The first set was tied at seven early on. The scoring proceeded to go back and forth until the set was tied at 14. Then the Lions put together a 6-1 run that gave them a five point advantage, 21-15. The Fleet were unable to regain their momentum as the Lions went on to take the first set, 25-21. 

The second set began with senior Don Thompson serving. Two errors from the Fleet and an ace from Thompson gave Emmanuel the early advantage. Four kills in four attempts for senior Aleksa Lakic combined with two kills from freshman Carlos Guerrero en route to the Lions taking a seven point lead, 9-2. Emmanuel continued to dominate the set until the score was 20-13. Then, kills from Lakic and sophomore Harrison Coelholed to a five point run that gave the Lions the set in dramatic fashion, 25-13. 

Erskine battled to keep their playoff hopes alive in the third set as they were able to keep the score close early on. However, with the set tied at 13, the Lions scored four consecutive points to gain the advantage. The run included two kills from Thompson and an ace from Lakic. When the Fleet finally responded, sophomore Jayden Youngrecorded back to back kills to help the Lions retain control of the set. With Emmanuel leading 23-18, Thompson recorded a kill and a block assist alongside Guerrero to give the Lions the set and the victory, 25-18 and 3-0, respectively. 

The Lions were led by Don Thompson, who recorded 14 kills, 5 digs, 3 blocks, and a hitting percentage of .524. Aleksa Lakic followed with 12 kills, 5 digs, an ace, and a hitting percentage of .308. Setter Henrik Westhoff finished with 30 assists, 6 digs, 3 kills, and a solo block. 

Next up, men's volleyball will continue the conference playoffs in the quarterfinal round against 3 seed North Greenville University on Tuesday, April 13 in Travellers Rest, SC. 

All of the quarterfinalists will be looking to advance to the semifinals of the 2021 Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Championship that will be held on Saturday, April 17 at King University in Bristol, Tennessee. The final is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 18.
 
All of the action in the 2021 Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Championship will be streamed live on the Conference Carolinas Digital Network at ConferenceCarolinasDN.com.

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