Banner Elk, NC – The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball team traveled to Banner Elk, NC tonight to face the Lees McRae College Bobcats in the first round of the Conference Carolinas Championship. The Bobcats took the early lead, taking the first set 25-20 but the Lions responded well to win set two, 25-18. The Bobcats rallied to close out the game strong, winning the final two sets 25-22, 25-19.
The two teams traded points and the lead early in the first set, with
Luke Wilson and
Aidan Feeney picking up big kills to lead the way. The Bobcats pulled ahead 14-8 midway through the set, but the Lions answered with kills by Wilson, Feeney
Thijs Van der Wal and
Elek Cumming to cut the Bobcats lead to 19-17. Lees McRae closed the set strong to earn the 25-20 win.
The Lions answered back in the 2
nd set. Emmanuel pulled ahead 5-2 on kills by Feeney, Wilson, Van der Wal, and
Greg Bodus. The Bobcats responded to tie the set at 6-6 and the two teams traded points until midway through the set when a service ace by
Christian Colon-Baez pushed the Lions ahead 15-12. A kill by
Matthieu Bataille and errors by the Bobcats gave the Lions the 18-13 lead. The Lions closed the set strong to earn the win, 25-18.
The Bobcats rallied in set three, taking an early 7-3 lead. The Lions responded with kills by Bataille and Cumming to cut the Lees McRae lead to 12-10. The Bobcats pushed their lead to 16-12 midway through the set, but the Lions made key plays where it counted to keep the set close. The Bobcats led the Lions late in the set, 24-22 and a kill gave Lees McRae set three, 25-22.
The Bobcats carried their momentum to the fourth set. The teams traded points early, with Wilson starting the set strong. With the teams knotted at 11-11, the Bobcats pulled ahead on a 3-0 run, 14-11. Errors by the Bobcats and a service ace by
Elek Cumming put the Lions within a point of the lead, 17-16 but the Bobcats closed the set strong to earn the win, 25-19 and the game, 3-1.
Overall, the Lions had 39 kills, 37 assists, 3 aces, 14 blocks, and 31 digs.
Aidan Feeney led the Lions with 15 kills, with
Luke Wilson adding 7.
Greg Bodus had 31 assists on the night, with
Thijs Van der Wal,
Christian Colon-Baez, and
Luke Wilson picking up an ace each. Bodus led the team with 5 blocks, with Wilson adding 3. Feeney had 8 digs on the night, with
Josh Staehler adding 7,
