THE BASICS 

Score: Simmons 3, Emerson 1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-20, 27-25)

Records: Emerson Lions (13-2, 2-6 NEWMAC) ; Simmons Sharks (11-12, 6-4GNAC)

Location: Boston, Mass.. (Moore Gymnasium) 

Date: Thursday, October 18th, 2018.

The Lead: The Lions had three players with double digit kills but were unable to overcome by a strong offensive attack by the Sharks.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Kelley Guerra (Randolph, N.J.) led all Lions with 14 kills.  Fara Cohen (Morristown, N.J.) and Albany Alexander (Orlando, Fla.) both added double digit kill performances with 12 and 10 respectively.
• Moira Brennan (Glenview, Ill.) assisted on 34 of 40 kills for Emerson. 
• Guerra and Cohen reached a double double by having 20 and 13 kills respectively while Lauren Quan (San Diego, Calif.) added 14.
• Reilly Coombs had16 kills and Julia Fusco grabbed 18 digs to lead the Sharks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Emerson did not lose a set by more than five points on the day.
• The first set saw a back and forth affair which the teams came to the end of knotted at 20.  
• Simmons grabbed the three next points to open up a 23-30 lead.  Emerson fought back and forced the set into extra points.
• After getting the match to 24-24, Emerson dropped the next two points and fell 26-24.
• In the second set, Emerson fell behind by five to open the set.
• Headlined by a Jessica Braunstein (Demarest, N.J.) kill, Emerson roared back and tied the match at 22-22.  They continued fighting and won the second set 25-23.
• Emerson jumped out to a lead in the third set, winning seven of the first ten points. 
• Simmons' attack came to life and cut the lead from four to one at 10-9.
• Emerson maintained the lead to 17-15, before Simmons rattled off nine straight points, before closing out the set 25-20.
• In the final set, Emerson fell behind 14-7, but continued to battle.  They found their stride and jumped into a close game at 20-19.
• The teams traded points and found themselves knotted at 25.  Simmons was able to score the next two points and win the set by a score of 27-25, and won the match with a score of 3-1.

UP NEXT

• Emerson has a quick turnaround, hosting a tri-match against Framingham St. and Conn. College on Saturday starting at 11:00am.  During the 3:00pm match, we will honor the seniors for their great work as Lions over the years.