Franklin Springs, GA – The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball team hosted North Greenville University this afternoon in conference action. The Trailblazers took the early lead, winning the first set 25-23. The Lions rallied to take the second set, 25-20 but the Trailblazers finished strong, winning the next two sets 25-19, 26-24 to earn the 3-1 win. 

The Trailblazers jumped out to a 5-2 lead early in the first set. The Lions rallied on kills by Matthieu Bataille, Aidan Feeney, Elek Cumming and Thijs Van der Wal to take a 10-9 lead. Midway through the set, a 4-0 run gave the Trailblazers the lead, 15-13 then another run by North Greenville pushed their lead to 19-14 late in the set. Kills by Feeney, Wilson, Bodus and Van der Wal cut the Trailblazers lead to 23-20, and attack errors by North Greenville cut the Lions deficit to a point, 24-23. The Trailblazers scored the final point to earn the 25-23 set one win. 

The Lions answered back in set two. Kills by Feeney. Cumming and Wilson quickly gave the Lions a 6-3 lead. The Trailblazers answered to tie the set at 7-7 and the teams traded points and the lead until midway through the set. With the set tied at 13-13, the Lions went on a 4-0 run on attack errors by the Trailblazers and a kill from Bataille to put the Lions up 17-13. Cumming, Bataille, Feeney and Wilson closed the set out strong for the Lions to give the set, 25-20.

North Greenville jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the third set. The Lions responded well with kills by Feeney and attack errors by the Trailblazers to cut the lead to 9-8 but North Greenville answered with a 3-0 run to pull ahead 14-10. Kills by Feeney and Cumming kept the Lions close, but the Trailblazers pulled ahead 18-14. Late in the set, the Trailblazers led, 22-17 and they closed the set strong to earn the 25-19 win. 

In the fourth set, the Trailblazers took an early 6-3 lead. The Lions answered with kills by Cumming, Feeney and Bodus to tie the set at 9-9. The teams traded points and the lead, with Bataille, Feeney and Wilson coming up big to give the Lions the 18-17 lead. The Trailblazers retook the lead, 19-18 and the teams traded points until late in the set. Tied at 24-24, the Trailblazers scored the final two points to earn the set four win in extra points, 26-24 and win the game 3-1.

Overall, the Lions had 53 kills, 4 aces, 9 blocks, 49 assists, and 45 digs. Aidan Feeney led the team in kills with 20, with Luke Wilson and Elek Cumming adding 9 apiece. Matthieu Bataille had 2 aces on the day, with Greg Bodus leading the team in blocks with 4. Bataille and Thijs Van der Wal each had 3 blocks. Bodus ended the afternoon with 37 assists, while Josh Staehler added 9 digs. 

Next up, the Lions will travel to Due West, SC to face Erskine on March 31 at 7PM.

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