FRANKLIN SPRINGS, GA - The Emmanuel College Men's Volleyball team (10-11, 4-5 CC) competed against conference opponent Lees-McRae College at home on Saturday. Despite Lees-McRae making each set a tough win for the Lions, Emmanuel won the match in straight sets 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 28-26).
Set one:
Early in the first set, Emmanuel quickly found themselves down 0-7 after losing the first 7 points of the match. However, the Lions went on an 11-5 run to bring the score within two as they were down 11-13. The two teams traded points for a while until the Lions found themselves up one at 21-20 near the end of the set. The Lions finished the set on a 4-1 run, winning the first set 25-21. They hit 0.222% (11-27) in the set.
Set two:
The two teams started the second set even, staying tied at 7-7. Lees-McRae then went on a 8-3 run, putting the lions down by 5 (15-10) halfway through the set. Emmanuel bounced back with a scoring run of their own, outscoring Lees-McRae 9-1 to tie the game 16-16. The two teams remained close as Emmanuel kept a two point lead nearing the end of the set (21-19). The Lions finished the set outscoring Lees-McRae 4-2, taking the set 25-22. The Lions hit 0.212% (13-33) in the set.
Set three:
The Lions found themselves down 0-7 once again losing the first 7 points of the set. Slowly, Emmanuel challenged Lees-McRae's lead, cutting it to 3 (10-7). Emmanuel went on an 9-5 scoring run halfway through the set, tying the game 16-16. The two teams remained close for the rest of the set, finding themselves tied at 23-23. After Lees-McRae went up 24-23, Emmanuel saved a set point, tying the game again at 24-24. The two teams traded points to tie at 26-26. After a service error and an attack error by Lees-McRae, Emmanuel won two straight points to win the set 28-26. The Lions hit 0.278 (15-36) in the set.
The Lions hit an overall .240% in the match. Gustavo Cavalcanti led the team in kills with 14, followed by Carlos Guerrero with 8 and Jayden Young with 7. Cavalcanti also led the team in aces with 3, followed by Carlos Guerrero and Daniel Beecham with 1. Daniel Beecham led the Lions in blocks with 4, followed by Jayden Young and Henrick Westhoff with 2. Henrick Westhoff led the team in assists with 31. Gustavo Cavalcanti led the team in digs with 12, while Nicklas Eichenberger earned 9 and Henrick Westhoff earned 6.
With today's straight set win, the Lions increase their record to 10-11 (4-5 CC). They will continue their season as they travel to Belmont, NC, on Tuesday, March 29th, to compete against conference opponent Belmont Abbey University.
For more on Emmanuel College athletics, visit goeclions.com.
