BELMONT, NC - The men's volleyball team (11-11, 5-5 CC) traveled to the Tar Heel state to take on conference opponent Belmont Abbey on Tuesday night. The match took five sets to settle, but eventually the Lions walked away with the victory over the Crusaders, 3-2. 

Set one:

The Lions hit to an incredible clip in the opener, recording a percentage of .524 thanks to 12 kills and only one error. Eventually the Lions would take the set by five points, 25-20. 

Set two:

The Lions were unable to carry their fantastic hitting into the second set, unfortunately. Eight attack errors would end up costing them the set. They only trailed 19-20 late, but a 5-2 closing run by the Crusaders tied the match 1-1. 

Set three:

Belmont Abbey continued to cruise, recording their highest hitting percentage of the night in the third (.368). They led 12-4 early on and never looked back, taking the set comfortably over the Lions, 25-15. 

Set four:

Trailing two sets to one with the match on the line, Emmanuel came out swinging in the fourth. They slowly built a six point lead by the middle of the set, 15-9. The Crusaders hung around, but were unable to make a charge before the Lions claimed the frame, 25-21. 

Set five:

The tiebreaker was a nail biter for fans of both teams. The Lions scored the first two points, but soon gave up a five to nothing run that had them staring at a 5-9 deficit. A couple of traded points and the Crusaders still led, 11-7. Suddenly, a couple of mistakes by Belmont Abbey were capitalized on and followed with kills from freshman Daniel Beachum and sophomore Eli Zdonek, squaring the set at 12. Then a kill from freshman Gustavo Cavalcanti was followed with a massive block by Beacham, Cavalcanti, and sophomore Carlos Guerrero as the front row erected a wall the Crusaders couldn't conquer. The Lions now led 14-12 and had a chance to end it. However, an early celebration was cut short when the officials called a late touch on what initially appeared to be an error from the Crusaders. Crediting Belmont Abbey with the kill kept their chances alive, but the hope was short lived. Cavalcanti proceeded to tool the Belmont block, giving the Lions the set in comeback fashion, 15-13, and the match, 3-2. 

Gustavo Cavalcanti led the way on offense, recording 17 kills and a hitting percentage of .393. The freshman added five digs, a block and an ace to the effort. Eli Zdonek followed with 14 kills, three digs, two blocks, and an ace. Junior setter Henrik Westhoff notched a double-double, dishing out 37 assists while picking up 11 digs. He added three kills and a block to the performance. Daniel Beacham and Carlos Guerrero finished with seven blocks each, while junior Harrison Coehlo had five. 

Next up, men's volleyball will return to North Carolina on Friday, April 1 to face Mount Olive. First serve is slated for 7:00pm. 

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