Franklin Springs, Ga – The Emmanuel Women's Volleyball team hosted Shorter University this afternoon in in conference play. The Hawks took the first set, 25-20 but the Lions rallied to win the next three, 25-11, 25-22, 25-22. With the win, the Lions move to 14-8 overall, 11-4 in conference play.
The Lions jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set on kills by
Ellie Jackson but Shorter responded well to take the 4-3 lead. The Hawks continued a 4-0 run to make it 8-5 early. Midway through the set, the Hawks held a 16-10 lead and expanded it to 21-12 on a 5-0 run. Kills by
Isabella Reyes,
Cailin Pritchard and a service ace by
Brooke Lee cut the Hawks lead to 24-20 late, but the Hawks closed the set on a kill to take it 25-20.
The Lions rallied in the 2
nd set, taking a 6-0 lead early on kills by
Brianna Bigelow and
Faith Kelly and an ace by
Marusa Pesut. With the Lions up 10-8 midway through the set, the Lions went on a 7-0 run on kills by Reyes and Pritchard. Kills by Jackson and Pritchard and aces by
Sami Gambill helped the Lions close out the set strong to win it, 25-12.
The Lions took an early 7-3 lead in the third set. The Hawks responded well, using a 5-0 run to take an 8-7 lead. Kills by Jackson, Bigelow and Kelly gave the Lions the edge, 12-9 but Shorter responded to take the 14-13 lead midway through the set. The Lions roared back to take the lead late, 20-18 but the Hawks responded to tie things up at 20-20. The Lions closed out the set strong outscoring the Hawks 5-2 to earn the set win, 25-22.
The Hawks jumped out to a 5-0 lead early in the 4
th set. The Lions responded with a 6-0 run of their own, made up of aces by
Asia Queen and kills by
Faith Kelly to give Emmanuel a 6-5 lead. The two teams traded points and the lead until late. Tied at 22-22, the Lions scored the final three points on kills by
Ellie Jackson to give the Lions the set win, 25-22 and the game 3-1.
Overall, the Lions had 55 kills, 8 aces, 7 blocks, 47 assists, and 88 digs.
Ellie Jackson led the team with 19 kills and 12 digs.
Marusa Pesut contributed 41 assists and 17 digs.
Asia Queen led the team with 4 aces and 29 digs on the afternoon, while
Cailin Pritchard added 2.5 blocks.
Next up, the Lions will travel to Murfreesboro, NC to face the Chowan University Hawks on Friday at 6PM.
For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.
