Florence, SC – The Emmanuel Women's Volleyball team traveled to Florence, SC tonight to take on Francis Marion in Conference Carolinas play. The Lions got off to a strong start, taking set one 25-17. The Patriots would respond well, taking the next two sets, 25-20, 25-18, before the Lions grabbed set four, 25-17, In a competitive fifth set, the Patriots came out on top 15-12 to take the game, 3-2. With the loss, the Lions fall to 13-9 on the season and 10-1 in conference.
In the first set, the Lions jumped out to a 7-3 lead before the Patriots answered back to get within one point of the lead, 11-10. The Lions forced a few attack errors to expand their lead to 17-11 and would control the set the rest of the way to win it, 25-17.
In the second set, the Patriots responded well by jumping out to an 8-2 lead. The Lions would answer back, tying things at 9-9 on a kill by
Ellie Jackson. The two teams kept the set competitive, until the Patriots used a 6-0 run to take a 21-14 lead. The home team would close things out strong to win the set, 25-20.
The third set saw the Lions start out strong, taking a 7-2 lead on a service ace by
Isabel Miller. The Patriots would score the next 9 of 10 points to take an 11-8 lead. The home team would extend their lead to as much as six points and take the set, 25-18.
The Lions responded well in the fourth set. The two teams began the set trading points, before the Lions used an attack error by the Patriots and a kill by
Ellie Jackson to pull away, 9-5. A kill by
Jocelyn Martin would extend the Lions lead to 14-7 midway through the set. The Patriots would get within four points of the lead, but the Lions held on to take the set, 25-17.
The fifth set was as competitive as the others, with each team making key plays. The Lions got out to a 6-4 lead, but the Patriots used a service ace to tie things at 6. The teams tied again at 9-9 and 10-10 before the Patriots took the lead and made a few key plays to win the set, 15-12 and the game, 3-2.
Overall, the Lions had 62 kills, 61 assists, 5 aces, 5 blocks, and 102 digs.
Ellie Jackson led the way with 19 kills and 28 digs.
Alaina Emminger contributed 12 kills, while
Jocelyn Martin had 11 and
Emily Hanson added 10.
Sami Gambill led the team with 29 assists and joined
Amore Marshall with two aces each.
Brianna Bigelow had 2 blocks on the night to lead the team.
Asia Queen had 27 digs on the night.
Next up, the Lions will travel to Pembroke, NC where they'll face UNC Pembroke at noon. For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.
