BOSTON, Mass. - The Lions (5-5, 0-1  in-conference) went 1-1 during Saturday's tri-match with Vassar College and Endicott.

The Lions lost a tough match to Endicott in the first game.  After take a two set lead, the Lions failed to close it out as Endicott won three straight sets. 

Jackson Wiley scored 20 points for the Lions while  Stanson Afoa accounted for 19.5 points.  Brendan McGonigle added 39 assists. 

In the first set, Endicott got off to a quick 4-1 advantage after kills by Brandon Chadwick and Brennan Lowe.  However, a combination of tough play by the Lions offensively and forced service errors by Endicott brought Emerson to a 12-8 advantage midway through.  Afoa's kill after an assist by Brendan McGonigle gave the Lions a 1-0 set advantage.

The second set again showcased skillful play by Afoa and Wiley.  The Lions never played from behind on their way to a 25-22 victory, posting an impressive .444 team attack percentage. Endicott's struggles culminated in a set-ending attack error by John Osborne.

The final three sets were a different story.  Despite hard-nosed play by the Emerson roster, Endicott started eliminating mistakes and forced Emerson to play a more defensively minded game.  The Lions were limited to nine kills in the third after averaging 14 kills in the first two sets.  In the fourth, Emerson was held to seven kills in comparison with Endicott's 15.

Still, the Lions did not make Endicott's job easy by any means.  All three sets came down to the wire, with Emerson falling 20-25, 22-25, and 11-15 in the deciding fifth set.

In Emerson's second match-up of the day against Vassar College, the Lions again amassed a two set lead in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.  EC dominated in the first set, posting 15 kills compared to just nine by Vassar.  Connor Burton led the charge with five points and four kills. 

The second set was more contentious, as Emerson pulled off a come-from-behind victory after trailing 24-22.  A Wiley kill followed by an attack error by Vassar's Reno Kriz gave EC the 26-24 advantage.

EC fell to Vassar in the third set 25-22.

The Lions were able to close out the match in the fourth set, which was full of Vassar errors both on the offensive and defensive end.  EC capitalized early, running up a 13-8 lead and never looked back as they won the set 25- 23.  The Lions were dominant on their end, posting a .360 attack percentage in the set.

 Joe Pyne (16 kills) and Reno Kriz (22 kills, .432 K%) were the leaders for Vassar.

The Lions match-up at home next against Anna Maria College in GNAC play at 7 p.m. on February 27^th.