FRANKLIN SPRINGS, GA - The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball team took on the Barton Bulldogs at home on Friday night. The Lions defeated the Bulldogs, 3-2, moving Emmanuel's record to 7-13 overall and 2-6 in conference play. 

First Set:

With the score locked at three early on, the Bulldogs began a 7-2 run that gave them a five point advantage, 10-5. The Lions slowly clawed their way back in it until the score was tied at 17. Then with Barton leading 19-18, a pair of kills from Nicklas Eichenberger and an error from the Bulldogs gave the Lions a two point advantage, 21-19. Barton scored four straight to get to 23, then the teams traded points to give the Bulldogs set point, 24-23. Another kill from Eichenberger extended the set, but Barton quickly scored again. The 7th kill of the set from Jayden Young tied it at 25, but two in row for the Bulldogs gave them the opener, 27-25. 

Second Set:

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the second set, but two points for the Lions quickly tied the score. Emmanuel soon led 10-9 before going on a 5-2 run that gave them their largest lead of the set, 15-11. The Bulldogs scored three straight to get to 14, but Emmanuel responded with an electric run. A 10-2 surge in favor of the Lions gave them the second set in dominant fashion, 25-16. Jayden Young and Carlos Guerrero combined for blocks on two occasions, while a pair of kills from Young and setter Henrik Westhoff were key to the streak. 

Third Set:

The third set was back and forth early on as the score was within one until it was tied at eight. The Bulldogs then slowly inched ahead until they built a four point advantage, 19-15. Despite Young and Eichenberger continuing to tally kills, Barton would hang on to take the third set by four points, 25-21. 

Fourth Set:

Emmanuel had to have the fourth to extend the match, and they got off to just the start they needed. Back-to-back service aces for Noah Langelier and a kill from Young got Emmanuel up by five, 11-6. The Lions continued to control the pace until they led 17-13. Then, a dominant stretch ensued until Emmanuel had scored six straight and led by double digits, 23-13. The Lions would go on to take the set comfortably, 25-17. 

Fifth Set:

Young began the tiebreak fifth set with a kill that sparked a 7-2 run for the Lions. Even after a timeout there wasn't much Barton could muster, as Emmanuel would continue to dominate until a Young and Carlos Guerrero block made the score 11-4. The Bulldogs used their final timeout to try and slow the momentum, but the Lions kept their foot on the gas en route to a 15-9 victory in the set and 3-2 victory in the match. 

Leaders:

The Lions were led by Jayden Young, who finished with 23 kills, 7 digs and 3 blocks. Nicklas Eichenberger notched a career-best 20 kills along with 5 digs and a pair of blocks. Daniel Beacham hit .429 on the day with 9 kills. 

Henrik Westhoff recorded 55 assists, giving him 3,042 in his career. Westhoff is now the first men's volleyball player in Emmanuel program history to surpass 3,000 career assists. 

Next up, men's volleyball will host Mount Olive on Saturday, March 18 at 2:00pm. 

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