HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker men's volleyball team lost 3-2 in game one of its doubleheader against Eastern Mennonite University, but rallied to capture game two 3-1 in men's collegiate volleyball on Saturday (Jan. 25).

In game one the Cobras and Royals would trade the first four sets of the contest with the Royals taking sets one and three 25-17 and 26-24, respectively. The Cobras won set two 25-21 and forced a fifth set by taking set four 25-23.

The fifth and final set would prove to be a slugfest between the Cobras and Royals as neither team would take a lead larger than two points. The Royals finally broke the back-and-forth scoring trend when they took three of the last four points to take the set 15-12.

Leading the Cobras offensively was Leshon Alexander with 11 kills on a .450 hitting percentage, he also collected six blocks and three digs. Jared Geizer contributed nine kills and six blocks of his own. Cooper Lyon led the Cobras defensively with 14 kills, while Ricardo Ferrer dished out a team-high 40 assists.

Game two was more kind to the Cobras as they took sets one and two 25-23 and 25-22, respectively. The Royals would take set three 25-21, but Coker would rout set four 25-14 to win the match.

Leshon Alexander and Luke Hansen led the Cobras offensively with 10 kills apiece. Ricardo Ferrer handed out 36 assists and served up four aces, while Cooper Lyon had a team-high 11 digs.

The Cobras will return to the court Thursday (Jan. 30) when they host the Limestone College Saints in their home opener in the Timberlake-Lawton Gymnasium. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. with live stats and video available at www.cokercobras.com.

Release written by: Sharod Williams, Coker sports information graduate assistant.