FRANKLIN SPRINGS, GA – The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball team hosted Tusculum University tonight in their home opener of the season. The first set was highly contested, with the Pioneers needing extra points to earn the 28-26 win. The Pioneers carried that momentum into set two to win, 25-16 and followed that up with a 25-21 win in set three to earn the 3-0 sweep. With the loss, the Lions fall to 0-3 on the early season.
The two teams traded points and the lead early in the first set. The Pioneers took an early 4-2 lead, but the Lions responded with kills by
Matthieu Bataille and Thijs Van der Wahl to tie the set at 4. With the Lions up 10-9, the Pioneers went on a 5-1 run to take a 14-11 lead. Kills by
Elek Cumming,
Aidan Feeney and Robert Hege kept the Lions within striking distance, with the Pioneers leading 17-14 midway through the set. The Lions answered with kills from Cumming, Bataille and Feeney to tie things at 20-20. Several errors from the Pioneers and a kill from Feeney kept things tied at 26-26, but the Pioneers scored the final two points of the set to earn the 28-26 win.
In set two, the Pioneers kept their momentum going taking a 5-2 lead early. With Tusculum up 7-4, the Lions responded with a 5-0 run made up of errors by the Pioneers, a kill from Feeney and a service ace from Hege to make it 9-7, Lions. The Pioneers answered with a 5-0 run of their own to take a 12-9 lead. Midway through the set, Tusculum led 17-12, but a service error by the Pioneers and a kill from Hege made it 17-14, Tusculum. After a kill from Feeney cut the Pioneers lead to 20-16, Tusculum closed the set on a 5-0 run to take the second set, 25-16.
The two teams traded points and the lead early in the third set, with key plays from Feeney, Bataille, and Hege. With the set tied at 4-4, the Lions pulled ahead on kills from Cumming and
Greg Bodus, along with an ace by Van der Wahl to make it 7-5, Lions. The Pioneers responded with a 3-0 run to go up 8-7, but the Lions answered scoring the next two points to retake the lead, 9-7. With the Pioneers up 14-12 midway through the set, the Lions answered with kills from Cumming and attack errors by the Pioneers to pull within a point of the lead, 17-16. Late in the set, the Lions tied things up at 21-21 on a kill from Van der Wahl, but the Pioneers closed out the set on a 4-0 run to earn the 25-21 win in set three and the sweep.
Overall, the Lions had 32 kills, 2 aces, 8 blocks, 31 assists and 37 digs.
Aidan Feeney led the way with 11 kills on the night with
Matthieu Bataille adding 7. Thijs Van der Wahl and
Robby Hege each had an ace from the service line, with Hege leading the team with 4 blocks.
Greg Bodus led the team in assists with 29, with
Josh Staehler leading the way with 14 digs.
Next up, the Lions will be back on the road for a match up at Newberry on January 30 at 6PM.
For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.
