FRANKLIN SPRINGS, GA - The men's volleyball team began their season by hosting Queens University on Thursday night. The Lions defeated the Royals in a five set thriller, 3-2.
The first set included 3 lead changes as both teams looked to begin their season on a good note. With the Royals leading 16-15, the Lions put together their largest run of the set, scoring six straight points and pulling into the lead. With the score 21-18, junior Jayden Young recorded his fifth and sixth kills of the set as the Lions went on to take it, 25-18.
Sophomore Carlos Guerrero began the second set with a kill for the Lions. An ecstatic back and forth ensued until the score was tied at 17. A couple of mistakes by the Royals gave the Lions the lead, 19-17. However, a 7-2 run in favor of Queens put them at set point, 24-21. Emmanuel rallied to tie it up as Guerrero's fifth kill of the set squared things at 24. But a couple of errors from the Lions resulted in the Royals taking the set, 26-24.
The Lions captured the third set in similar fashion to the first: by grinding it out and finishing strong in a 25-22 win. The fourth set favored the Royals the entire way, and they eventually closed it out by eight points, 25-17.
The tiebreaker set began with the Royals leading by three, 4-1. After a timeout by Coach Friddle, the Lions got a side out and followed it with a 3-1 run, culminating in an ace from junior Harrison Coelho as the Lions tied the game at 5. The teams traded points until sophomore Eli Zdonek tied it at 8 with an ace, sending the home crowd into a frenzy. Then, with the score tied at nine, Young and junior setter Henrik Westhoff combined for four kills. One of the scores included Young setting Westhoff, who recorded a kill in the role-reversal. Freshman Daniel Beacham interjected an ace into the electric run that got the Lions to set and match point, 14-9. A misstep by the Lions was followed with an explosive kill from Zdonek, putting an exclamation mark on the 15-10 victory as Emmanuel took the match, 3-2.
Jayden Young set a career-high while leading the offensive effort for the Lions, finishing with 19 kills, 5 digs, and 2 blocks. Eli Zdonek followed with a personal best of his own that included 15 kills, 15 digs, and 2 aces. Carlos Guerrero began the season by matching his previous year's best kill total with 13. Setter Henrik Westhoff also began the season in style, dishing out 50 assists while hammering down 3 kills and adding 8 digs. Sophomore libero Nicklas Eichenberger also opened with a strong performance, finishing just two off his career best with 17 digs.
Next up, men's volleyball will host Tusculum University on Saturday, January 22nd at 11:00am.
For more on Emmanuel College athletics, visit goeclions.com.
