Honolulu, HI – The Emmanuel Women's Volleyball team closed out the Hawai'i Challenge with a matchup against the Saint Martin's University Saints. The match was competitive from the start, but the Saints came away with a 3-0 win, 25-21, 26-24, 25-19.
In the first set, the Saints jumped out to a 7-3 lead. The Lions responded well, with kills from
Brooke Lee and
Natalie Wilson, along with two aces from
Isabel Miller to tie the set at 7-7. The two teams traded points until late, with
Brianna Bigelow,
Cailin Pritchard, and Lili Redifer getting in on the action. Late in the set, with the teams knotted at 20-20, Saint Martin's closed things out on a 5-1 run to earn the set one win, 25-21.
The Lions took an early 7-5 lead in the second set, with
Ellie Jackson and Bigelow, Lee, and Wilson making key plays. After tying the set at 9-9, the Saints took their first lead of the set, 10-9. The Lions answered to retake the lead midway through the set on a kill by
Jada Porter to put Emmanuel up, 13-12 and the two teams would trade points the rest of the way. Tied at 24-24, the Saints scored the final two points to earn the win in set two, 26-24.
The tight competition continued in set three. The teams went back and forth, with Jackson Lee, and Wilson collecting kills early to give the Lions a 9-8 lead early. Midway through the set, the Saints led 15-14 and continued a 6-0 run to go up 21-14. Errors from the Saints and an ace from
Madelyn Banton closed the gap for the Lions making the score, 21-17 but Saint Martin's finished strong to earn the 25-19 win in set three, and the game 3-0.
Overall, the Lions had 35 kills, 4 aces, 3 blocks, 32 assists and 34 digs.
Natalie Wilson ended the night with 10 kills, and
Marusa Pesut led the team with 29 assists.
Isabel Miller led the Lions with 2 aces, while
Jada Porter picked up a block.
Ellie Jackson led the team in digs with 9.
Next up, the Lions will open Conference Carolinas play with a game at Shorter on Wednesday at 6PM.
For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.
