FRANKLIN SPRINGS, GA - The men's volleyball team hosted Belmont Abbey on Saturday afternoon. The Lions defeated the Crusaders in four sets, 3-1, moving Emmanuel's record to 6-5 overall and 2-2 in league play. 

The first set was a back and forth exchange as the teams battled it out. Eventually it was the Crusaders who pulled away, hitting at an efficient clip of .318. The Lions hit .111, resulting in a six point loss of the opening set, 19-25. 

Emmanuel quickly turned things around in set two, hitting an impressive .367. But the Crusaders hung right with them, hitting .292 to keep the score close. With the score tied 6-6, freshman Gustavo Cavalcanti recorded three consecutive aces that were book ended by kills from sophomore Eli Zdonek and freshman Viktor Berg. This built a lead that Emmanuel held on to until it was 22-17 late in the set. A four point push by Belmont Abbey brought them within a point. However, a kill from Zdonek and a pair of kills from Cavalcanti gave the Lions the set, 25-23. 

Emmanuel led early and often in the third set despite only hitting .167 at the net. However, extremely strong defense including a string of blocks held the Crusaders to their worst hitting percentage of the match (-.028). Eventually the Lions took it by half a dozen, 25-19. 

The Lions trailed 13-16 in the final set, making it look like the match was headed to a tiebreaker. However, an explosive eight point run got the crowd on their feet before Cavalcanti ended the match with his 14th kill of the day, giving Emmanuel the set, 25-18, and the match, 3-1. 

Eli Zdonek and Gustavo Cavalcanti combined for nearly two thirds of Emmanuel's kills, recording 16 and 14, respectively. Zdonek added 2 blocks and 2 digs, while Cavalcanti tied an Emmanuel program record with 6 aces while adding 7 digs and 5 blocks. 

Next up, men's volleyball will be at North Greenville on Wednesday, March 2 at 7:00pm. 

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