The Emerson men’s volleyball team went down to the wire against the American International College Yellow Jackets on March 25, but ultimately lost in five sets.
The Yellow Jackets rattled off four straight points to begin the opening set before a kill by junior outside hitter Chase Fagen got Emerson on the board. AIC widened the lead thanks to a block and two Emerson errors, forcing the Lions to regroup with a 7-1 deficit. The Lions soon got into a groove, eventually tying the set at eight after a kill by senior outside hitter Theo Hackett. The Lions then took the lead off of a kill by senior setter Bryson Beck, but the rest of the set was a back-and-forth battle. Neither side led by more than two points for the rest of the period. After a Yellow Jacket spike tied the set at 23, a leaping kill and a block from Hackett gave the Lions the first set, 25-23
“[Head coach Ben Read said] we’re beating ourselves,” junior middle blocker Liam Higgins said of the coach’s message during the first timeout. “And we can’t win the game [by] beating ourselves.”
The Lions flipped the script to begin the second set, leading 4-0 after a Beck ace. Though the Yellow Jackets slowly cut into the deficit, Emerson held firm, eventually going up 10-3 after an ace by sophomore outside hitter Riley Goldman. The Yellow Jackets capitalized on their own attacks and Emerson’s errors, trimming the deficit to one, 11-10. After an AIC kill tied the set at 12, a service error gave the Lions a brief advantage. A flurry of ties and lead changes ensued, with the Yellow Jackets leading 16-15 after a tap kill over the net.
The second set remained close with both teams trading leads until an AIC kill put them up 21-20. The Yellow Jackets met first-year middle blocker Cash Muse up top, stifling his attack for a 22-20 lead. Another AIC block put the visitors up three before an attack error gave the Lions another chance to come back. A kill and ace by the Yellow Jackets gave AIC the second set, 25-21.
The Yellow Jackets began the third set in dominant fashion, running out to a 9-3 lead before the Lions calmed the storm with a Fagen kill. Another attack by the junior brought the score to 12-6, still favoring AIC. The Yellow Jackets continued to separate themselves with sharp attacks and costly Emerson errors, leading 18-9 after consecutive kills. Emerson continued to trim the deficit behind spikes from Muse, Beck and Fagen, but the Yellow Jackets remained on a roll. A three-peat of spikes won them set no. 3, 25-14.
Both teams traded points to start the fourth set, with AIC leading 7-6 after back-to-back kills. The Lions then scored four unanswered for a 10-7 lead after a Goldman ace. The Yellow Jackets fought back and found themselves down 14-13 after a kill, which led to an Emerson timeout. The Lions built a three-point lead following a net violation by the Yellow Jackets, though AIC responded with two more kills to make it a one-point game. A kill by sophomore outside hitter Stanley Yu put the Lions up 18-16, but the Yellow Jackets tied the set after another kill and a Lion error. The frequent lead changes continued until a Muse kill and an AIC attack error put Emerson up 24-22. After a Yellow Jacket block, the visitors committed a service error, and the Lions tied the game with a 25-23 set win. They forced a fifth set to 15 points instead of the traditional 25.
The Yellow Jackets took a 3-1 lead early in the fifth set before the Lions tied it with consecutive AIC errors. Spikes by junior middle blocker Liam Higgins and Hackett put the Lions up 5-3, but the Yellow Jackets evened the game once more off of Emerson errors. Another bevy of ties and lead changes followed until the final moments, when a Beck block tied the set at 13. An emphatic Yellow Jacket attack put them up by one, and following a Lion timeout, Hackett levitated for the set-tying kill. Another AIC slam put them up 15-14, and a block won them the set and game, 16-14.
Hackett led the Lions with 14 kills, while Fagen tallied 12 and Muse and Higgins picked up seven apiece. Beck recorded a team-high 40 assists, and Goldman finished with a team-high three aces.
Despite the result, Higgins believed Tuesday’s game was a “nice bounce back” compared to their 3-1 loss to Elms College on March 20.
“Our last game was a little rough, but overall, [this was] a good bounce back,” he said. “We won the first set, and coming out of that hole was good.”
The Lions have gone toe-to-toe with elite opponents at or above the Div. III level, including various nationally-ranked D3 teams and AIC, whose men’s volleyball team entered as a Div. II program in the fall of 2021. The last time the Lions and Yellow Jackets squared off, AIC also won in a five-set thriller.
“It’s nice to compete, but, you know, we want to win,” Higgins said. “Not winning is always a bummer.”
Going forward, Higgins believes the team must improve on coverage and “getting more serves in.” They recorded six aces but also committed 22 service errors Tuesday.
The Lions look to rebound on March 27, when they travel to New Hampshire to face conference opponent Rivier University at 7 p.m.
