FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. – A day removed from a heart-breaking loss to Southern Wesleyan, the Belhaven Volleyball team bounced back with a strong performance at Southern States Athletic Conference foe Emmanuel on Saturday. A refocused Blazer squad enforced their will upon the Lions for their thirteenth 3-0 victory of the season.

Belhaven needed a chance to redeem themselves following the loss to Southern Wesleyan. The team has managed to battle back from tough losses before, never losing two matches in a row.

However, nothing was guaranteed on the road against a Lion team that was sitting pretty with a 16-7 overall record. The Blazers were going to have to play their best to avoid a 0-2 road trip, which could have been disastrous with Mobile and Spring Hill waiting for the team when they return to Jackson.

The Blazers got back to the basics against Emmanuel and played a virtually flawless first two sets to put themselves in a prime position to get back into the win column. Belhaven took the two sets comfortably, 25-20 and 25-17 to grab ahold of the match.

Instead of dwelling on the misfortune of the night before, the Blazers joined together as a team to take the final set 25-21 for the sweep.

Gabriella Zorzoli and Morgan Hofacker led the Blazers on defense with 16 and 9 digs apiece. Zorzoli has now led Belhaven with digs in each of the last four contests.

Freshman Chae Levy had the best performance of her young career, connecting on 5 of her 7 attack opportunities for a .714 hitting percentage. Levy, who has been seeing an increase in playing time as of late, is an important part of the Blazer front line moving forward.

The seniors along the front line had their typical performances in the victory. Taylor Williams led the team with 12 kills and grabbed a block. Natalie Davis stuffed the Lions with three blocks and Samantha O'Malley deflected two of her own for points.

Erin Bradley hovered around her season average in assists with 33 and is approaching the 800-assist mark on the season.

Belhaven returns home after three straight road matches for two important conference matches with Mobile and Spring Hill. The Blazers lost to Spring Hill three weeks ago in Alabama, before defeating Mobile a day later. Both matches will be important in determining SSAC playoff seeding, with all three teams in the top four in the standings.