Tigerville, SC - North Greenville began conference play with a competitive 3-1 victory against the Lions of Emmanuel University tonight at Hayes Gymnasium. The match was also the home opener for the Crusaders. NGU finished the match with a .260 hitting percentage and led the way in points, kills, service aces, assists, and digs while Emmanuel led the way in blocks.

Sets one and two proved to be highly competitive with neither team leading by more than five. However, North Greenville would narrowly edge out the Lions with 25-21 and 25-22 set wins. Set three was controlled by North Greenville until late in the set. Trailing 22-17, Emmanuel would fight back by ending the set on a 9-2 run to take the set 26-24. After an early run by the Lions, NGU would take over the momentum and would go on to win the set 25-19.

Abigail Durham led the way in kills and finished with a double-double, posting 19 kills and 10 assists. Samantha Ball posted a double-double of her own, finishing with 14 kills and 21 digs. Elena Dyer put together an impressive night, recording 12 kills while committing just 1 error throughout the night. Anna Fiddelke was also solid with 10 kills and just 1 error.

NGU will return to action on Friday, September 22nd against the Braves of UNC Pembroke at Hayes Gymnasium.