Franklin Springs, GA – The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball team hosted Belmont Abbey College this afternoon in the annual "You Matter Game" to raise awareness for Suicide Prevention. The Lions dropped the first set to the Crusaders, 25-13 but they rebounded to earn the win in set two, 25-21. The Crusaders closed out the game with wins in set three (25-18) and four (25-21) to earn the 3-1 win. With the loss, the Lions fall to 3-6 on the season, 0-2 in conference play.

The Crusaders jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the first set. An attack error by the Crusaders and a kill by Elek Cumming put the Lions within two points of the lead, 6-4 but the Crusaders responded with a 6-0 run to take a 12-4 lead. Kills from Aidan Feeney and Cumming put the Lions down 18-7 late in the set. The Lions used kills from Josh Staelher and Cumming and an ace by Aidan Feeney to make the set one score, 25-13 Crusaders.

The Lions rebounded in the second set. The teams traded points and the lead early in the set, with kills from Thijs Van der Wal and Feeney, along with an ace by Bryan Povea leading the way. The Lions pulled ahead on kills from Cumming, Feeney and Van der Wal to go up 16-12. Late in the set, the Lions lead 18-13, but the Crusaders pulled within two points, 22-20. The Lions closed out the set on errors by the Crusaders to earn the 25-21 win. 

The third set saw the Crusaders take an early 5-2 lead, but the Lions used kills from Cumming to pull within a point, 6-5. The Crusaders answered with a 3-0 run to go up 10-6, but kills from Feeney, Cumming and Van der Wal kept it close with the Lions trailing 16-14 midway through the set. A 7-2 run late by the Crusaders put Belmont Abbey up 23-16 late, and they closed out the set strong to earn the 25-18 win in set three.

In set four, the Crusaders took an early 7-3 lead but the Lions used kills by Feeney and Cumming to pull within a point, 9-8. Midway through the set, the Crusaders led 15-11but a kill by Cumming and a bad set by the Crusaders made it 15-13. Late in the set, the Lions trailed by two, 20-18 but the Crusaders closed out the set strong to earn the 25-21 set four win and the 3-1 win.

Overall, the Lions had 32 kills, 2 aces, 7 blocks, 31 assists and 33 digs. 

Elek Cumming led the Lions with 17 kills on the night, with Aidan Feeney and Thijs Van der Wal each picking up a service ace. Bryan Povea and Aidan Feeney each had 4 blocks on the night, with Greg Bodus picking up 29 assists. Feeney led the team in digs with 10.

Next up, the Lions will travel to Fort Valley, GA to face Fort Valley State on Tuesday at 6PM.

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