Franklin Springs, GA – The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball team hosted Lees McRae tonight in conference play. The Lions got off to a quick start, taking the first set 25-19. The momentum continued to be in the Lions favor, as they continued to sweep the Bobcats, 25-16, 25-23. With the win, the Lions improve to 2-18 on the season, 1-7 in conference play. 

The Lions jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in set one behind kills by Lucas Nieves and Andrew Michael. The Bobcats responded well to get within a point of the lead, but a kill by Aidan Feeney and an attack error by the Bobcats pushed the Lions lead back to 11-8. The Bobcats would tie things at 13-13 midway through the set, but kills by Thijs Van der Wal, Oliwer Wrobel, and Michael pushed the Lions lead up to 18-15. A 3-0 run late in the set, made up of kills by Michael, Feeney, and Carlos Guerrero made it 24-19, Lions and a kill by Nieves put the set away for the Lions, 25-19. 

In set two, the Bobcats jumped out to a 4-2 lead, but the Lions answered with a 5-0 run, consisting of kills by Guerrero, Nieves and a service ace by Guerrero made it 7-4, Lions. The Bobcats got within one point of the lead at 10-9, but the Lions responded with a 6-0 run including kills by Guerrero, Feeney and Nieves to make it 16-9, Lions. The Lions continued on a 4-0 run to push their lead to 22-12 late in the set. The Lions closed the set out strong to earn a 25-16 win. 

Set three was competitive from the start. The two teams traded points and the lead to start the set, with the Lions jumping ahead by two, 8-6 on a kill by Feeney. The Bobcats tied the set at 11, but the Lions responded to go up 15-12 on kills by Feeney and Michael. A 3-0 run by the Lions, including kills by Feeney and Nieves made it 19-15 late. Late in the set, the Lions lead 24-20, but three straight points by the Bobcats made the set interesting at 24-23. A kill by Feeney gave the Lions the set 3 win, 25-23 and the game 3-0. 

Overall, the Lions had 42 kills, 2 aces, 5 blocks, 38 assists and 33 digs.

Aidan Feeney led the Lions with 19 kills on the night, with Lucas Nieves adding 8. Thijs Van der Wal and Carlos Guerrero each had a service ace in the game, with Andrew Michael adding 3 blocks to lead the team. Oliwer Wrobel led the team with 34 assists, with Josh Staehler adding 9 digs. 

The Lions will be back in action tomorrow at 2PM as they host the King Tornado in the Shaw Athletic Center. For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.