Belmont, NC – The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball team traveled to Belmont, NC to take on the Crusaders of Belmont Abbey College for their first conference game of the season. The Lions kept things competitive, but the Crusaders took the game in three sets, 25-17, 25-20, 25-17. With the loss, the Lions fall to 1-9 overall, 0-1 in conference action.
 
In the first set, the Lions jumped out to an early 6-4 lead behind kills from three kills from Aidan Feeney. A 3-0 run by the Crusaders turned the tides, giving Belmont Alley a 9-8 lead but the Lions quickly responded to tie things on a kill by Thijs Van der Wal. Midway through the set, the Crusaders went up 15-12, but the Lions answered with two consecutive points to cut the lead to 15-14. Belmont Abbey went on a 4-0 run to make it 20-14 and would outscore the Lions 5-2 the rest of the way to take set one, 25-17. 
 
Set two saw the Crusaders jump out to a 3-1 lead. A 3-0 run by the Lions, including a kill by Van der Wal gave the Lions a 6-5 lead but the Crusaders quickly tied things at 6. A 4-0 run for Belmont Abbey made it 10-7, Crusaders Midway through the set, Belmont Abbey held a 17-13 lead, but the Lions answered back to pull within 19-17 on an attack error. The Crusaders closed out the set strong outscoring the Lions 6-3 to earn a 25-20 win. 
 
In set three, the Lions jumped out to a 6-5 lead behind kills from Lucas Nieves and Feeney. The Crusaders responded with a 3-0 run to take an 8-6 lead. The Lions tied things at 9 on a kill by Feeney but the Crusaders responded well with a 5-1 run to make it 14-10, Crusaders. Kills by Andrew Michael and Feeney cut the lead to 15-13, but Belmont Abbey responded to make it 22-16. The Crusaders would close out the set on a 3-0 run to take it 25-17 and win the game, 3-0. 
 
Overall, the Lions had 28 kills, 1 ace, 5 blocks, 26 assists and 22 digs. 
 
Aidan Feeney led the way with 9 kills and a service ace, while Thijs Van der Wal added 8 kills. Greg Bodus led the team in blocks with 4, while Oliwer Wrobel contributed 22 assists. Lucas Nieves, Josh Staehler, and Wrobel each had 6 digs on the night. 
 
Next up, the Lions will travel to Fort Valley, GA to take on Fort Valley State University on Wednesday at 6PM. For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.