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Four years of waiting has culminated with Emmanuel officially now getting its shot to compete in the Conference Conference Carolinas championship
The Conference Carolinas announced last week that Emmanuel will be eligible for the postseason and conference championship after the NCAA granted the college full NCAA Division II membership.
“Our athletic staff and coaches have worked extremely hard over the past few years to develop their programs into competitive NCAA DII teams,” Emmanuel athletics director Nate Moorman said in a statement. “We’re excited about the future of Emmanuel athletics and anxiously awaiting the opportunity to compete in postseason championships.”
The Lions men’s volleyball team joined the ConfCarolinas in 2015 as a provisional member. While the team was allowed to compete in the regular season, it was ineligible for the conference tournament because of its transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II.
Emmanuel would have qualified for the eight-team ConfCarolinas Tournament the last three seasons, including finishing the 2018 season tied for sixth place.
Middle attacker Don Thompson highlights the Emmanuel starters returning for the upcoming season under new head coach James Friddle. Thompson ended last season with a conference-best .397 attack percentage and was among the ConfCarolinas with a 2.27 kills per game average.
“Conference Carolinas’ members are thrilled to have Emmanuel College as a NCAA Division II and Conference Carolinas member,” Conference Carolinas Commissioner Alan Patterson said in a statement. “Emmanuel has played Conference Carolinas regular season schedules for four years and is prepared to compete and succeed immediately. This is a perfect match of college and conference.”
Along with men’s volleyball, Emmanuel will field teams in the 20 other sports that the ConfCarolinas sponsors.
Emmanuel is a four-year Christian college located in Franklin Springs, Georgia and has an enrollment of more than 900 students. It is the only college in Georgia to sponsor a NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball team.