FRANKLIN SPRINGS, GA – The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball team hosted the King Tornado in conference action this afternoon. The game was competitive from the start with both teams making key plays, but the Lions were able to come away with a four set win, 25-23, 25-22, 17-25, 27-25. With the win, the Lions improve to 3-18 overall, 2-7 in conference play. 

The Lions jumped out to a 7-3 lead in set one behind kills from Lucas Nieves, Aidan Feeney and Thijs Van der Wal. The Lions continued on a run, taking a 12-6 lead on a kill by Carlos Guerrero. The Tornado would respond to cut the Lions lead to 17-13, but the Lions would push their lead to 19-13 on back-to-back kills by Feeney. The Tornado would use a 4-0 run to get within a point of the lead late, 24-23 but a kill by Van der Wal would give the Lions match point and a 25-23 set one win. 

In set two, the Lions got off to a strong start taking a 5-2 lead on kills by Feeney, Nieves, and Guerrero. The Lions would continue with a 4-0 run, made up of kills by Feeney and Andrew Michael to give the Lions a 10-4 lead. The Lions would extend their lead to 17-9 on kills by Van der Wal. The Tornado would get within two points late, 24-22 but a service error by the Tornado would give the Lions a 25-22 set two victory.

The Tornado rebounded in set three. The two teams went back and forth early, with the Tornado pulling away on a 6-0 run to take a 13-7 lead. A 4-0 run would push the Tornado lead to 20-11, but the Lions responded well with kills by Feeney and Van der Wal late. The Tornado would close out the set strong to earn a 25-17 win in set three.

The Lions jumped out to a 4-0 lead in set 4 on kills by Feeney and service aces by Oliwer Wrobel. King responded to tie things at 8-8, then took the lead 11-9. The Lions used a 3-0 run to retake the lead, but the Tornado answered to tie the set at 14. The Lions retook the lead 19-17 on a kill by Michael, and although the Tornado fought to get within one point of the lead late, the Lions scored the final two points in extra time to earn the 27-25 set four win. With the set win, the Lions took the game 3-1. 

Overall, the Lions had 59 kills, 3 aces, 4 blocks, 56 assists, and 51 digs.

Aidan Feeney led the way for the Lions with 28 kills, with Thijs Van der Wal adding 12. Oliwer Wrobel had 45 assists and 2 aces on the night, with Carlos Guerrero also adding an ace. Andrew Michael and Van der Wal each had 3 blocks on the night. Lucas Nieves and Josh Staehler each had 12 digs. 

Next up, the Lions will host Reinhardt on Tuesday at 5PM. For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.