BANNER ELK, N.C. – The Lees-McRae College men's volleyball team battled but ultimately fell to Emmanuel College in four sets (29-27, 25-27, 25-19, 27-25) in a Conference Carolinas matchup Saturday afternoon at Williams Gymnasium.
1st Set – The opening set of Saturday's match was one that could've gone either way. Emmanuel and Lees-McRae were tied at 13 different points in the opening frame. The Bobcats took a brief lead at the tail end of the first, 24-23. After a service error returned serve back to the Lions, the two teams were tied at 25, 26 and 27. Emmanuel was finally able to pick up back-to-back points on kills to finish off the first stanza, 29-27.
2nd Set – Emmanuel and Lees-McRae were once again locked in a tight set in the second. No lead by either team was more than three points at any juncture in the set. Unlike the first set, however, the Bobcats got the better of the Lions in key situations down the stretch. Emmanuel took a 25-24 lead with a kill, but the Bobcats notched three straight points to pull in front and even the match at a set a piece, 27-25.
3rd Set – In the most lopsided set of the match, the Lions were able to put some runs together to build what turned out to be the largest leads on the afternoon. Emmanuel began the third scoring six of the first eight points. The Lions eventually built a match-high seven-point lead, 19-12. Lees-McRae put together a run of its own to trim the deficit to three, 19-16. Unfortunately, that's as close as the Bobcats got to the Lions as the latter finished off the set, 25-19.
4th Set – Lees-McRae looked like it may force a fifth set for the first time this season in the later stages of the fourth frame. After a Lion attack error, Lees-McRae led 21-17. Emmanuel, however, rallied to eventually tie the score at 24. Riding the momentum of erasing the Bobcat lead, the Lions scored three of the next four points to finish off the four-set victory, 27-25.
Next Up – Lees-McRae will briefly step out of Conference Carolinas play next Saturday when it visits Lincoln Memorial University in a non-conference match. First serve is set for 2 p.m.
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