Franklin Springs, GA – The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball team hosted Newberry tonight in non-conference action. The Lions jumped out to an early lead, earning a 25-15 win in set one and a 25-19 win in set two. The Wolves rebounded, winning set three 25-20 but the Lions closed out the game strong with a 25-22 win in set four to earn the 3-1 win. With the win, the Lions move to 3-5 on the season. 

The Lions jumped out to an early 7-1 lead in the first set behind kills from Aidan Feeney, Greg Bodus, Elek Cumming and Thijs Van der Wal. Midway through the set, the Lions pushed their lead to 16-6, with kills from Feeney and Van der Wal and an ace from Cumming making it 23-13 late. The Wolves scored the next two points, but a kill by Feeney closed the set to give the Lions the 25-15 win.

The Lions carried their momentum into the 2^nd set, pulling ahead 8-6 behind kills from Matthieu Bataille, Robert Hege, Feeney and Bodus. Kills by Cumming and attack errors from the Wolves extended the Lions lead to 14-8 midway through the set. The Lions pulled ahead late on a kill by Bodus, 19-10, but the Wolves pulled within six points on errors by the Lions, 20-14. Kills from Bodus and Bataille closed out the set strong for the Lions, giving them the 25-19 win. 

In the third set, the Lions pulled ahead 4-2 on a kill from Feeney and errors by the Wolves. Kills from Luke Wilson, Hege, Bataille, and Feeney put the Lions up 11-7 but the Wolves closed the gap to tie the set at 14-14. The teams traded points and the lead until late in the set when Newberry took the lead 21-20 and outscored the Lions 5-0 the rest of the way to earn the 25-20 win in set three.

In the fourth set, the Lions jumped ahead 4-1 on kills from Feeney and Cumming. Kills from Van der Wal and Cumming quickly made it 7-2, Lions. Midway through the set, the Lions led 15-9 but three consecutive points from Cumming made it 18-10, Lions late. The Wolves pulled within five points of the lead, 22-17 but the Lions closed things out strong to earn the set four win, 25-19 and win the game, 3-1.

Overall, the Lions had 61 kills, 57 assists, 6 aces, 7 blocks and 55 digs. 

Aiden Feeney led the Lions with 20 kills on the night, with Elek Cumming (13) and Thijs Van der Wal (11) ending the night in double figures. Greg Bodus had 43 assists and 13 digs on the night, with Elek Cumming adding 4 aces and 2 blocks. 

Next up, the Lions will host Belmont Abbey tomorrow in their annual You Matter – Suicide Awareness & Prevention game tomorrow at 2PM in the Shaw Athletic Center. 

For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.