Box Score

DUE WEST, SC – The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball team opened up Conference Carolinas play at Erskine tonight. The Lions battled hard, winning the first set 28-26, but the Flying Fleet would take the next three sets, 25-20, 25-16, and 25-22 to win the match, 3-1. With the loss, the Lions fall to 1-6 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
 
In the first set, the Lions got off to a slow start, trailing 7-4 early. But, senior Eli Zdonek and freshman, Lucas Nieves would each get two kills to bring the match to 8-7 in favor of Erskine. The teams would trade points until the Lions took their first lead of the set since leading 1-0 on a kill by Aidan Feeney to make it 17-16 Lions. The Lions would lead by as much as 21-18 before the Flying Fleet tied the set at 24. Two costly attack errors by Erskine gave Emmanuel the momentum and the first set, 28-26. 
 
Set two was evenly matched, with each team answering point for point. After the Lions tied the set at 17, Erskine would finish set strong with three kills and two service aces to take the second set, 25-20. 
 
In the third set, Erskine's serve game stayed strong with three aces. The Flying Fleet would go on a 5-0 run to extend their lead to 14-6.  The Lions had a few costly errors in set three that kept the set out of reach and Erskine took it 25-16. 
 
The fourth set started evenly matched with each team answering the bell. The Lions would get the set within one point after forcing an attack error to make it 10-9, Erskine but the Flying Fleet would push their lead to 8, 20-12. Erskine would get up 23-16, before the Lions would go on a 5-1 run to bring the score to 24-22, but Erskine would close out the set with a kill to earn a 25-22 win and take the match 3-1. 
 
Overall, the Lions had 47 kills, 8 blocks, 3 aces, and 51 digs. 
 
Eli Zdonek led the team with 19 kills, with Lucas Nieves contributing 11 and Aidan Feeney adding 10. 
 
Nieves, Arturo Diaz-Dube and Miguel Rodrigues each had one ace on the night. Nicklas Eichenberger had 15 digs on the night with Nieves adding 12, while Diaz-Dube led the team with 2.5 blocks and Nieves contributing 2. 
 
Next, the Lions will face Tusculum on Friday at 5PM. 
 
For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.