Belmont, NC – The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball team traveled to Belmont, NC tonight to face Belmont Abbey College in conference play. The Crusaders jumped out to an early lead, needing extra points to take the first set, 26-24. Belmont Abbey carried their momentum into set two, earning the 25-13 win but the Lions rallied to keep set three close, falling 25-21. With the loss, the Lions fall to 9-11 on the season, 4-5 in conference action.
The teams traded points and the lead early in set one. The Lions pushed ahead 6-4 on attack errors by the Crusaders, but Belmont Abbey rallied to tie things at 6-6. The teams continued to go point-for-point, with
Greg Bodus,
Aidan Feeney and
Luke Wilson picking up big kills. Late in the set, the teams were tied at 20-20 and kills by Bodus and
Thijs Van der Wal kept things tied at 24 all. The Crusaders would close out the set strong, scoring the final two points to earn the win, 26-24.
The Crusaders jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in set two. Kills by Wilson, Van der Wal, Feeney and Robert Hege cut the Crusader lead to 13-9 midway through the set, but Belmont Abbey responded well to push their lead to 18-13. The Crusaders closed the set on a 7-0 run to earn the 25-13 win in set two.
In set three, the Crusaders took an early 4-2 lead but the Lions used kills by Feeney and
Elek Cumming to tie the set at 5-5. The Lions took the lead on a 5-0 run made up of kills by Wilson and service aces from Cumming to give Emmanuel the 10-6 lead. A 3-0 run made up of kills by Feeney, Bodus, and Wilson pushed the Lions lead to 13-8, but the Crusaders used a 4-0 run to tie the set at 14-14. With the Lions up 17-16 late in the set, the Crusaders went on a 5-0 run to pull ahead 21-17. The Lions cut the Crusaders lead to 24-21 late in the set, but a kill ended the set, giving the Crusaders the win in set three, 25-21 and the 3-0 sweep.
Overall, the Lions had 26 kills, 2 aces, 7 blocks, 26 assists, and 26 digs.
Aidan Feeney and
Luke Wilson each had 7 kills on the night, with
Elek Cumming adding 2 aces.
Greg Bodus led the team in blocks (3) and assists (20), with
Josh Staehler and
Elek Cumming adding 7 digs a piece.
Next up, the Lions will host North Greenville on Saturday at 2PM.
For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.
