Franklin Springs, GA – The Emmanuel Women's Volleyball team hosted Converse University tonight in conference play. The Lions jumped out to an early lead, taking set one 25-19, but the Valkyries rallied to win the next three, 27-25, 25-18, 25-15. With the loss, the Lions fall to 13-7 on the season, 10-3 in conference play.
The two teams traded points and the lead early in the first set. The Lions jumped out ahead 8-3 on a kill by
Ellie Jackson and ace by
Sami Gambill. The Valkyries rallied to tie things at 9-9. Kills by
Brooke Lee,
Faith Kelly and Jackson put the Lions ahead, 14-10. Converse tied things up again midway through the set at 16-16 but the Lions closed out the set strong on kills by Jackson,
Marusa Pesut, and
Brianna Bigelow to take the set, 25-17.
The second set was competitive from the start. There were several ties and lead changes early until the Lions took the lead midway through the set. A 4-0 run by the Lions gave Emmanuel the 13-9 lead and back-to-back aces by
Sami Gambill pushed the Lions lead to 16-10. The Valkyries rallied back, tying the set at 22-22. The Lions retook the lead, 24-22 but the Valkyries finished the set strong to earn the set two win in extra points, 27-25.
The Valkyries carried their momentum into the 3
rd set taking an early 4-2 lead. The Lions responded well on kills by
Faith Kelly and
Cailin Pritchard to take a 5-4 lead. The Valkyries responded with an ace to take a 6-5 lead and Converse led the rest of the way. The Lions cut the Converse lead to three late on a kill by Pritchard, but the Valkyries scored the final five points to take the set, 25-18.
Converse jumped out to a 7-4 lead early in the 4
th set. The Lions got within two points, 10-8 but Converse responded with a 3-0 run to go up 14-9. Late in the set, the Valkyries led 19-12 and closed out the game on a 6-2 run to earn a 25-15 set four win. Converse took the game, 3-1.
Overall, the Lions had 51 kills, 5 aces, 48 assists, 5 blocks and 63 digs.
Ellie Jackson led the way with 15 kills with
Cailin Pritchard adding 10.
Marusa Pesut had 41 assists on the night, while
Sami Gambill led the team in aces with 3.
Faith Kelly and
Brianna Bigelow had 1.5 blocks a piece, with
Asia Queen and
Ellie Jackson contributing 15 digs each.
Next up, the Lions will travel to Tigerville, SC to face North Greenville University on Saturday at 2PM.
For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.
