BRISTOL, TN – The #3 seed, Emmanuel Women's Volleyball team opened Conference Championship play with a quarterfinal matchup against #6 UNC Pembroke. The Lions jumped out to an early lead taking the first set, 25-13. The Braves stormed back take sets two and three, 25-23. 30-28. The Lions responded well to win the next two, 25-22, 16-14 to earn the 3-2 victory and a spot in tomorrow's semifinals. 

The first set saw the Lions jump out to a 4-1 lead on kills by Cailin Pritchard. The Braves got within a point, 4-3 but the Lions pulled back ahead on a kill by Pritchard and an attack error by the Braves to go up 7-3. Midway through the set, the Lions led the Braves 13-5 on kills by Brianna Bigelow, Faith Kelly, Ellie Jackson and Brooke Lee. The Lions finished the set strong to earn a 25-13 win, collecting 19 kills in the set. 

The Lions carried their momentum into the 2^nd set, taking an early 5-3 lead, with key plays by Lee and Kelly. Marusa Pesut and Ellie Jackson got into the action to push the Lions lead to 9-5. The Lions would get up by as much as six points late, 19-13 but the Braves would storm back. With the Lions leading late, 23-21, the Braves scored the final four points to earn the 25-23 win in set two. 

The third set was just as competitive. The Braves took an early 5-2 lead, but the Lions rallied with kills by Jackson and Asia Queen to tie the set at 5-5. There were multiple ties and lead changes throughout the set, with the Lions leading by as much as two points late, 17-15. Late in the set, the Braves led 22-19, but the Lions tied things at 22-22 on a kill by Brooke Lee. The teams traded points and the lead the rest of the way until the Braves scored the final two points to take the set, 30-28. 

The fourth set was another close one. The Braves took an early lead, getting up 9-6, but the Lions responded well to take the lead, 13-12 pushing it to 16-13 midway through the set. The Braves made a run late, cutting the Lions lead to 24-22, but an attack error by the Braves gave the Lions the fourth set win, 25-22. 

In the fifth set, the Lions jumped out to a 5-1 lead on kills by Jackson, Kelly, Bigelow, and Lee. The Braves responded well with a 6-1 run to take the lead, 7-6. The Braves pushed their lead to 10-8, but the Lions roared back to tie the set at 11-11 on a kill by Jackson Trailing 14-13 late, the Lions closed the set out strong on kills by Kelly, Lee, and Pritchard to take the set, 16-14 and the game, 3-2.

Overall, the Lions had 67 kills, 7 aces, 3 blocks, 60 assists, and 117 digs. 

Ellie Jackson led the way with 17 kills, with Faith Kelly adding 12 and Brooke Lee getting 11 on the night. Jackson was strong from the service line with 3 aces, while Sami Gambill added 2. Cailin Pritchard and Faith Kelly had two blocks apiece on the night with Marusa Pesut having a HUGE day with 46 assists and 31 digs. Ellie Jackson added 26 digs on the night with Asia Queen contributing 22. 

Next up, the Lions will face Converse University tomorrow at 7:30PM in the semifinals.

For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.