Franklin Springs, GA – The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball team hosted Catawba in their 2
nd annual "You Matter" game to raise awareness for Suicide Prevention. The match was competitive, with both teams making key plays but the Indians took home a 3-0 victory, 25-21, 25-23, 25-21. With the loss, the Lions fall to 1-17 on the season, 0-7 in conference action.
In the first set, Catawba jumped out to a 5-1 lead before the Lions roared back behind kills by
Lucas Nieves and a service ace from
Carlos Guerrero to make it 8-8. The Lions took their first lead of the set on a kill by Nieves to make it 11-10 but the Indians answered to retake the lead 16-14 midway through the set. Kills by
Aidan Feeney and Nieves tied things back up at 18, but the Indians closed out the set strong to take it 25-21.
In the second set, the Indians jumped out to an early 5-2 lead but the Lions responded on kills by Nieves and Feeney to take a 9-7 lead. The Lions pushed their lead to 13-10 on a kill by Guerrero but the Indians responded to tie things at 15. Kills by
Thijs Van der Wal and Feeney put the Lions back on top, but Catawba responded with a 3-0 run to go up 20-18. Kills by Nieves and Feeney cut the Indians lead to 24-23, but Catawba took the set, 25-23.
In the third set, the Lions took an early 5-3 lead on kills by Nieves, Feeney and Aedan Venagas. Catawba responded to take an 8-6 lead, but the Lions answered to tie things at 8 on a kill by Venagas. The two teams traded points and the lead until the Indians took a 16-14 lead midway through the set. Catawaba pushed their lead with a 3-0 run to go up 20-16 but kills by Feeney and Nieves cut the Lions deficit to one, 22-21. The Indians finished out the set scoring the final three points to take the set 25-21 and the game 3-0.
Overall, the Lions had 40 kills, 2 aces, 7 blocks, 39 assists and 43 digs.
Lucas Nieves led the way with 22 kills on the night with
Aidan Feeney adding 11. Nieves and
Carlos Guerrero each had an ace at the service line and
Andrew Michael led the way with 5 blocks.
Oliwer Wrobel had 32 assists on the evening, with Wrobel and Feeney each contributing 9 digs in the match.
The Lions will be back in action on Thursday as they host #13 Lewis University at 7PM. For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.
