Franklin Springs, GA – The Emmanuel Women's Volleyball team hosted Southern Wesleyan University tonight for Senior Night. The Lions honored their sole senior, Asia Queen, celebrating all that she has meant to the program over the last four years. The Warriors started off strong, taking the first set 25-20 but the Lions roared back to win the final three, 25-19, 25-19, 25-16. With the win, the Lions improve to 16-8 overall, 13-4 in conference play. 

The two teams traded points and the lead to start off the first set. The Lions jumped ahead 9-7on a 3-0 run made up of kills by Ellie Jackson and an ace by Sami Gambill but the Warriors responded quickly with a 3-0 run of their own to go up 12-10. A 4-0 run by SWU late in the set put the Warriors up 18-14, and although the Lions kept things close, the Warriors closed out the set strong to earn a 25-20 win. 

Both teams made plays early in the second set to keep things competitive. After multiple ties and lead changes, the Lions went on a 5-0 run late in the set to go up, 20-15 on kills by Jackson and Cailin Pritchard. Errors by the Warriors and a kill by Brooke Lee closed out the set to give the Lions a 25-19 set two win. 

The Lions carried their momentum into the third set, starting things off with a 7-0 run to go up 8-1 on kills by Jackson, Isabella Reyes and Faith Kelly. Kelly, Reyes and Pritchard continued to kill it in set three, pushing the Lions lead to 16-4 midway through the set. With the Lions up 20-9 late, a 5-0 run made up of big plays by Jackson, Kelly and Reyes gave the Lions the set, 25-9. 

Faith Kelly continued to shine in set four, starting things off with back-to-back kills to give the Lions a 6-4 lead early. The Lions continued on a 4-0 run to go up 10-5. Midway through the set, the Lions used errors by the Warriors to go up 16-10 and pushed ahead on kills by Kelly, Reyes and Pritchard to go up, 20-13. The Lions closed out the set strong on big plays by Marsua Pesut and Pritchard to take the set, 25-16 and the game, 3-1. 

Overall, the Lions had 68 kills, 7 aces, 7 blocks, 65 assists, and 85 digs. 

Faith Kelly led the way with 18 kills, with Cailin Pritchard (16) and Ellie Jackson (15) each contributing double digit kills. 

Marsua Pesut led the way with 51 assists, while Brianna Bigelow added 4 blocks. 

Ellie Jackson had 3 aces on the night, with Isabel Miller and Sami Gambill adding 2 a piece. 

Senior, Asia Queen led the Lions with 21 digs, with Pesut (18) and Jackson (13) each in double-digits. 

Next up, the Lions will travel to Banner Elk, NC to face Lees McRae on Friday at 7PM. 

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