GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Aleksa Lakic recorded 15 kills and four blocks to lead the Emmanuel College men's volleyball team to a 3-1 non-conference win over Tusculum University Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.
The Lions (4-9) won by scores of 25-23, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23 as the visitors finished the game with 11 team blocks and posted a .237 hitting percentage.
Don Thompson accounted for a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs and a .391 attack percentage. Mateus Bade led the EC defensive efforts with 14 of his team's 42 digs.
Tusculum was led by Dane Loup's 12 kills and six digs, while Hunter Walck added 11 kills, six digs and a team-best four service aces. Shawn Kampshoff posted seven kills and two aces, while Caleb Slater finished with four kills and three solo blocks. TU libero added 11 digs in the loss.
In the opening set, Emmanuel overcame a 22-17 deficit by closing out the frame with an 8-1 run including four straight points to claim a 25-23 decision. The Lions posted five blocks in the first frame as TU posted a negative hitting percentage of minus-.034.
The Pioneers (1-8) responded with a 25-20 win in the second set as Tusculum hit .476 as a team with 11 kills in 21 attacks and just one error. Loup led TU in the second with four kills in his seven attempts.
In the third set, the Lions led wire-to-wire in a 25-20 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Lakic tallied five kills and two blocks for Emmanuel, while Carlos Guerrero accounted for four blocks for the Lions.
Emmanuel carried the momentum into the fourth set scoring the first four points. Tusculum battled back and took a 14-12 lead following a kill from Kampshoff. The Lions went on an 8-2 spurt to go up 20-16 following kills from Eli Zdonek and Ray Peterson. TU trimmed the deficit to one on two occasions down the stretch including 23-22 following an EC service error. But a pair of kills from Thompson sealed the victory for the Lions as the Lions claimed the fourth, 25-23.
Tusculum finished the night with 40 kills and 22 errors in 110 attempts for a .164 hitting percentage. Lucas Blanco tallied 28 assists on the night to go along with his six digs. Reese DeElena came off the bench in the fourth and tallied six assists and two digs for the Black and Orange.
The Pioneers begin a three-match road trip next Wednesday as Tusculum travels to Belmont Abbey for a 7 p.m. match against the Crusaders.
