Tigerville, SC – The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball team traveled to Tigerville, SC this afternoon to take on North Greenville in conference action. The Lions got off to a good start, taking set one 25-18 before falling in set two, 25-16. The Lions rallied to win set three, 25-22, but the Trailblazers closed the game out strong winning the final two sets, 25-21, 15-13 to earn the win. With the loss, the Lions fall to 4-19 on the season, 2-8 in conference play. 

The Lions jumped out to an early 10-6 lead in the first set behind kills by Carlos Guerrero, Aidan Feeney and Bryan Povea. The Trailblazers responded to make it 10-8, but the Lions pushed forward with kills by Lucas Nieves and Povea to make it 18-13, Lions midway through the set. The Trailblazers rallied late to cut the Lions lead to 24-18, but a kill by Nieves gave the Lions the set one win, 25-18. 

The two teams traded points and the lead early in the 2^nd set. The Trailblazers jumped ahead 10-8, but the Lions responded with kills by Nieves to make it 11-10, Trailblazers. North Greenville answered back with a 6-0 run to make it 17-10. The Trailblazers controlled the set the rest of the way to earn a 25-16 win. 

The Lions rebounded in set three. Emmanuel got off to an 8-5 lead. The Trailblazers cut the Lions lead to 11-9, but the Lions responded to push their lead to 16-12. A kill by Povea put the Lions up 21-14 late, but the Trailblazers went on a 6-1 run to cut the lead to 22-20. The Lions closed out the set strong to win it, 25-22. 

In the fourth set, the Trailblazers took an early 7-3 lead. The Lions answered with a service ace by Nieves to cut North Greenville's lead to 7-6. The Trailblazers pushed ahead 10-6, but the Lions responded once again with kills by Feeney to cut North Greenville's lead to 15-14 midway through the set. Kills by Feeney and Thijs Van der Wal kept things close, but the Trailblazers finished out the set 25-21 to tie the game at two sets a piece.

In the fifth set, North Greenville jumped out to an early 10-6 lead. The Lions roared back with kills by Feeney and Nieves to pull with a point, 14-13 but the Trailblazers scored the final point to take the set, 15-13 and the game 3-2. 

Overall, the Lions had 49 kills, 45 assists, 5 aces, 8.5 blocks, and 36 digs.

Aidan Feeney led the way with 22 kills on the afternoon, with Lucas Nieves adding 13. Nieves had 3 service aces on the day, with Bryan Povea and Oliwer Wrobel each collecting one. Nieves and Carlos Guerrero had 4 blocks in the game, and Aidan Feeney led the team in digs with 8. 

Next up, the Lions will travel to Mount Olive, NC to take on the University of Mount Olive Trojans on March 28 at 7PM. For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.