WEST PALM BEACH, FL - Women's volleyball concluded their tournament weekend at the Hyatt Place Bash at the Beach with a match against Lenoir-Ryhne University. The Bears defeated the Lions in five sets, 3-2, moving Emmanuel's record to 1-6. 

The first set saw the Bears gain momentum early on as the Lions struggled defensively. With LHU leading 8-2, the Lions fought to stay alive but could only get back within four, 13-9. The Bears continued to control the set, eventually winning it by six, 25-18. 

The Bears led early in the second set, 6-3. However, a 5-2 run by the Lions tied the score at 8. After several back and forth point swings, the Lions managed to pull away by four, 18-14. A kill from senior Aleksandra Hamuda gave the Lions their largest lead of the set, 21-16. The Bears battled to stay in the set, but back-to-back kills from sophomore Alaina Emminger finished it in favor of the Lions, 25-21. 

The Bears led 8-4 early in the third. However, the Lions put together a rally that resulted in them eventually having a two point edge, 13-11. However, LRU took a timeout to gather themselves and proceeded to score three straight to regain the lead. The score flip flopped once again as the Lions regained the advantage and proceeded to go on an 8-2 run and gain a 6 point lead, 21-15. Following a timeout it was LRU that put together a run of their own, cutting Emmanuel's lead to two, 23-21. However, a kill from Hamuda was followed with a service ace by senior Taylor Roberts to give Emmanuel the set, 25-21. 

The Bears took a commanding lead early in the fourth set, 11-4. The Lions pulled back within four, 13-9, but another run by the Bears once again gave them a large lead, 17-9. The Lions could only get to 12 points as the Bears took the set by 13. 

LRU carried their momentum into the fifth, tiebreaker set as they took an early lead, 9-2. The teams went back and forth for the remainder of the set but it wasn't enough for the Lions as the Bears took the set, 15-9, and the match, 3-2. 

The Lions were led by Aleksandra Hamuda, who finished with her career high at Emmanuel with 16 kills. Alaina Emminger followed with 10 kills, while Mia Cotton had 9 to go along with 4 blocks. Additionally, Victoria Alexander had 25 digs. Freshman Lily Gutierrez had 36 assists and an impressive 5 aces, setting a career high in her first start as a Lion.

Next up, women's volleyball will face Young Harris College on Tuesday, September 14 at 6:00 PM. 

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