BOSTON, Mass. –  Megan Kaplon's 22 kills combined with Brandi Eggerman's 37 digs and a gritty defense made the difference Saturday as the Emerson Women's Volleyball team opened up GNAC play with a 3-0 win over Anna Maria and a down-to-the-wire 3-2 win over Rivier. The Lions now roar into week four of the 2011 season with a 7-3 overall record and 2-0 GNAC record.

The Lions made quick work of the first match, taking on the Anna Maria Am Cats in the eye-opener with EC swinging a comfortable .269 in the first set to run off with a 25-13 win. In set two the offense exploded for a red-hot .483 attack percentage with four Lions placing three kills on the floor apiece for a 25-11 win. With the Am Cats struggling to find a rhythm in the first set, the Lions licked their chops as they went for the kill with Kelsey Scanlon leading the charge with five kills in the set to swing .308 and send EC to their sixth win of the season with a 25-12 victory.

The second match of the day proved to be one of the tougher matches that the Lions faced all season as the vicious Rivier Raiders team rolled into the match off a solid 3-0 win over Anna Maria. Set one set the tone for the rest of the match as six tie scores and two lead changes spelled out a down to the wire win. The Raiders were just barely able to pull it out, swinging a .268 clip to EC's .263 to just barely nip the Lions 25-23.

Emerson wasn't about to have that on their home court though as they rallied up to throw off the Rivier offense who swung zeroes in the set while Megan Kaplon brought the pain to their defense unleashing six kills on the Raiders while teammate Madeleine Breeland collected a .600 attack percentage herself as EC took set two 26-24.

Set three had both teams swinging free with the Raiders stepping up the defense a bit with three blocks in the set to make the difference. Kenna Finlayson was unstoppable in the offensive assault as well, crushing seven to the floor, and while the Lions stayed at their heels in the set, they couldn't finish it as Rivier took a 25-23 win to go up 3-1.

Set four is where the heart of the Lions squad showed it's character. Even with Rivier inching towards the win, they managed to fight back, tying it five times off some phenomenal acrobatics by Brandi Eggerman who dug seven balls in the set giving Megan Kaplon the freedom to take the reigns on offense and put down five to snake out a 25-23 win.

If the swing of events in set four deflated the Raiders confidence the brutal offensive attack in set five finished it as EC swung out of their minds in the set with a .571 attack percentage as they blew the doors off in the final set with a definitive 15-7 win.

The Lions will return to the home court again this Thursday as they host Bridgewater State Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Boston, Mass at Brown-Plofker Gym.