Due West, SC – The Emmanuel Women's Volleyball team traveled to Due West, SC tonight to face Erskine College in conference play. The Lions took an early lead, earning the 25-19 win in set one before the Flying Fleet rallied to take the next two sets, 25-23, 25-20. The Lions answered to win the final two sets, 25-23, 15-10 to earn the five-set win, extending their win streak to 15. With the win, the Lions improve to 22-6, 16-2 in conference action.
Erskine jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the first set before the Lions used kills by
Jada Porter,
Ellie Jackson and
Cailin Pritchard to take the lead midway through the set, 16-15. The Lions closed the set strong on kills by Jackson,
Natalie Wilson, and
Brianna Bigelow, along with an ace by
Isabel Miller to earn the win, 25-19.
Erskine responded well, taking the lead 7-5 in the 2
nd set. The Lions tied the set at 8-8 on an attack error by the Fleet and the teams traded points until late in the set. With the teams knotted at 22-22, the Flying Fleet closed the set on a 3-1 run to take it, 25-23.
In the third set, Erskine jumped out to an 8-5 lead, but the Lions responded to take the 10-9 lead on a kill by Wilson and a service ace from
Lilli Redifer. Midway through the set, the Lions led 17-14 on kills by Jackson,
Marusa Pesut and
Brooke Lee, but the Flying Fleet closed the set on a 10-2 run to take it, 25-20.
The two teams went back and forth to start the 4
th set. Erskine took an early 4-2 lead, but the Lions responded with kills from Lee and Wilson to go up 10-9. Midway through the set, a 5-0 run by the Lions gave Emmanuel a 17-12 advantage. A 6-1 run by the Flying Fleet tied the set at 20-20, but the Lions used kills from Porter and Jackson to earn the set four win, 25-23 to force a 5
th set.
In the 5
th, Erskine took an early 4-3 lead but the Lions used kills from Jackson and Porter to pull ahead 7-4. Porter continued to shine, with back-to-back kills giving the Lions a 10-7 advantage. A service ace by Pesut and kills by Bigelow and Wilson sealed the set for the Lions, 15-10 giving the Lions the win, 3-2.
Overall, the Lions had 72 kills, 7 aces, 7 blocks, 69 assists, and 95 digs.
Three Lions ended the night with double figure kills, with
Ellie Jackson leading the way with 20.
Jada Porter (14) and
Natalie Wilson (12) closed out the leading Lions.
Madelyn Banton continued to stay strong from the service line with 3 aces, while
Marusa Pesut dished out 57 assists.
Brianna Bigelow led the Lions with 5 blocks on the night, while
Isabel Miller (23),
Ellie Jackson (22), and
Lilli Redifer (14) picked up double-digit digs.
Two Lions met career milestones in the win, with
Ellie Jackson becoming the program's All-Time Kills leader with 1,269 kills and
Isabel Miller connecting on her 100
th career ace.
Next up, the Lions will celebrate their seniors,
Ellie Jackson,
Brianna Bigelow, and
Cailin Pritchard on Senior Night in a matchup against the Southern Wesleyan University Warriors on Friday at 7PM.
For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.
