THE BASICS 

Score: Johnson & Wales 3, Emerson 0 

Records: Emerson Lions (3-5, 0-1GNAC) ; Johnson & Wales Wildcats (9-8, 3-0 GNAC)

Location: Providence, R.I. (Wildcat Center)

Date: Monday, February 17th, 2020

The Lead: The Emerson Lions Men's Volleyball Team opened up their conference schedule on Monday night, taking on the Johnson & Wales Wildcats in Providence, Rhode Island.  Emerson fell 3-0 to the GNAC team, despite 15 combined kills from Samuel Willinger (Golden Beach, Fla.) and Parker Gray (Los Angeles, Fla.)

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

EMERSON

Kills: Parker Gray (8), Samuel Willinger (7)
Assists: Lucas Raagas (Cambridge, Mass.) 14
Digs: Gray (9), Willinger (7)


JOHNSON & WALES

Kills: Jack Pincince (9), Ben Naouai (8)
Assists: Josh Orellana (13), Endel Sanchez (10)
Digs: Pincince (6), Naouai (5), Paul Brodeur (5)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Emerson opened up thee match trailing 4-1, but rallied back to cut the lead to two at 7-5 early.  The Lions fell behind by five after a short 3-0 run from the Wildcats, but Emerson quickly returned serve and cut the lead back to two behind a kill from Willinger.  From here, Johnson & Wales went on a 13-3 run to take a 23-11 lead late in the set.  With the teams trading the last four points, the Wildcats took the first set 25-13.
• After falling behind 4-0 in the early stages of the second set, the Lions rattled off an 8-2 run behind two kills from both Gray and Willinger, taking an 8-6 lead.  A 10-3 run by the Wildcats put the Lions in a five point hole.  Emerson cut the lead to two behind four straight points, capped off by a Gray kill.  The Wildcats closed out the Lions 25-20, with two kills from Josh Pitzer to close out the set. 
• The Lions came out strong in the third set, taking a 6-4 lead after 10 points, capping off the small run on a Gray kill.  A 10-1 run by thee Wildcats put the Lions down 14-7 after holding the small lead.  Thee Wildcats maintained their lead throughout the third set, with the Lions falling in straight sets 3-0.  

UP NEXT

• Emerson gets back in action when Wentworth travels to the Brown & Plofker Gym on Thursday night for the Lions's second conference match, starting at 7:00pm.