Franklin Springs, Ga – The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball team hosted Lees McRae in conference play this afternoon at the Shaw Athletic Center. The Lions took a competitive first set win, 25-23. They carried their momentum into set two, earning a 25-17 win and closing out the game with a 25-19 set three win to earn the sweep, 3-0. With the win, the Lions improve to 9-10 on the season, 4-4 in conference action.

The Lions jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in set one on kills by Luke Wilson and Thijs Van der Wal. The Bobcats tied the set at 3-3 and pulled ahead on a 4-0 run to take the lead, 8-5. The teams traded points, with Wilson, Aidan Feeney and Greg Bodus coming up with big kills to pull within a point of the lead, 14-13. A 3-0 run by the Lions, made up of two kills by Van der Wal tied the set at 16-16. A kill by Elek Cumming and an ace by Van der Wal put the Lions up 19-17 late in the set, but the Bobcats rallied to tie the set at 20-20. Kills by Feeney, Bodus and Van der Wal helped the Lions close the set strong to earn the 25-23 win in the first set.

The Lions carried the momentum into set two, jumping out to an early 5-0 lead on kills by Feeney and a service ace by Cumming. A 3-0 run for the Lions made up of attack errors by Lees McRae put the Lions up 11-4. Midway through the set with the Lions up, 14-10 Emmanuel went on a 4-0 scoring run made up of attack errors by the Bobcats and kills by Feeney to make it 18-10, Lions. Kills by Wilson, Feeney and Cumming pushed the Lions lead to 22-14 late and the Lions closed the set strong to win it, 25-17. 

The teams traded points early in the third set. The Lions pulled ahead on a scoring run made up of kills by Matthieu Bataille, Cumming, and Feeney to make it 8-4, Lions. Kills by Feeney and errors by the Bobcats pushed the Lions lead to 13-7. Late in the set, a service ace by Van der Wal put the Lions up 18-11 but the Bobcats rallied to pull within three points of the lead, 19-16. The Lions closed out the set strong, with a 4-0 scoring run made up of kills by Cumming and Feeney, along with an ace by Cumming put the Lions up 23-16. A kill from Luke White gave the Lions match point, giving the Lions the set, 25-19 and the game, 3-0.

Overall, the Lions had 41 kills, 4 aces, 7 blocks, 38 assists and 21 digs.

Aidan Feeney led the team in kills with 18, with Elek Cumming adding 6. 

Thijs Van der Wal and Cumming led the team in aces with 2 each, with Greg Bodus picking up 4 blocks on the afternoon. 

Bodus led the team in assists with 34, while Josh Staehler added 10 digs. 

Next up, the Lions will Belmont, NC to face Belmont Abbey College on March 25 at 7PM.

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