Franklin Springs, GA – The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball team opened their season at home this afternoon against the Buccaneers of Barry University. It was a competitive matchup from start to finish, with Barry taking set one 25-20, before the Lions rebounded to take the next three, 25-18, 25-23, 25-21 to earn the 3-1 victory. With the win, the Lions improve to 1-3 on the season.
Set one saw the Lions jump out to an early 6-3 lead on kills by
Andrew Michael and
Aedan Vanegas. The Buccaneers responded well with a 4-0 run to take a 9-8 lead. After the Lions answered to tie things at 13-13 midway through the set, the two teams traded points until Barry went on a 4-1 run to take a 20-17 lead. The Buccaneers closed out the set strong to win it, 25-20.
The Lions responded well in set two, taking a 4-2 lead early on kills by Thijs Van de Wal and
Lucas Nieves. A kill by Vanegas and an ace by Michael helped the Lions push their lead to 12-7 midway through set two. The Lions stayed on the offensive with an ace by Venegas and kills by
Greg Bodus, Nieves, and Van der Wal making it 20-11, Emmanuel. The Buccaneers answered to cut the Lions lead to 23-18, but the Lions forced two errors to close out the set, 25-18.
In the third set, the two teams traded points and the lead until a 3-0 run by the Lions gave Emmanuel a 10-8 advantage. The Buccaneers tied things at 12-12, then went on a run of their own to take a 17-14 lead. Kills by Nieves and Bodus and an ace by Vanegas helped the Lions tie things at 18 all. The Lions finished out the set strong with a block by
Andrew Michael and forcing two attack errors to take the set, 25-23.
The Lions carried their momentum into the fourth set, taking a 5-3 lead early. The Buccaneers responded well to make it 11-9, then two attack errors by Barry and a kill by Nieves put the Lions back out in front, 12-11. The two teams traded points until late in the set when the Lions used a 3-0 run, including two aces by Vanegas to close the set strong giving the Lions the set, 25-21 and the win, 3-1.
Overall, the Lions had 44 kills, 8 aces, 8 blocks, 40 assists, and 38 digs.
Lucas Nieves led the way with 16 kills, with
Thijs Van der Wal contributing 9.
Aedan Vanegas gave the Buccaneers problems at the service line with six aces on the afternoon. Nieves and
Andrew Michael led the team with 4 blocks a piece, with
Oliwer Wrobel adding 35 assists.
Josh Staehler ended the day with 9 digs.
The Lions are back in action this evening at 6PM as they host Fort Valley State University. For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.
