NEW YORK, N.Y. – Emmanuel College stepped up to defeat 7th-ranked Baruch College, 3-1, on Friday night in the opening round of Baruch College's Invitational Tournament.  The Saints suffered a 23-25 setback in the opening set and then rolled to wins in the next three sets, 25-13, 25-21 and 25-16.  On Saturday morning, Emmanuel was defeated by No. 12 Stevens Institute of Technology, 3-0 (20-25, 23-25, 21-25).  The Saints then squared off against 10th-ranked Elmira on Saturday afternoon and dropped a three-set decision (17-25, 15-25, 22-25).

In addition to Emmanuel's nationally-ranked competitors in Baruch, Stevens Tech. and Elmira, the highly competitive tournament also featured three other teams ranked among the nation's top 15, including No. 2 Rivier, No. 5 Nazareth and No. 14 Stevenson.  Some of the best Division III players in the country descended upon the ARC Arena for two competitive days in the heart of New York City.

Following the Friday night win and Saturday's pair of losses, the Saints now stand at 5-6 on the season.  Emmanuel will travel to Springfield, Mass. on Tuesday night (2/25) for a 7:00 PM battle with the No. 4 ranked Pride of Springfield College.

Baruch Invitational All-Tournament Team

MVP - Chris Vaughan (Stevens)
Jack McKee (Baruch)
Michael Vellutato (Elmira)
Luke Lawatsch (Nazareth)
Aaron Almario (Rivier)
Bez Arslani (Kean)
Jon Martin (Stevenson)
Ashanti Jackson (Emmanuel)

SATURDAY RESULTS:

#7 Baruch defeats #5 Nazareth, 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-21) BOX SCORE

#12 Stevens defeats Emmanuel, 3-0(25-20, 25-23, 25-21) BOX SCORE

#11 Elmira defeats Emmanuel, 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-22) BOX SCORE

Kean defeats #5 Nazareth, 3-0  (28-26, 25-17, 25-17)  BOX SCORE

#12 Stevensdefeats #2 Rivier, 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22) BOX SCORE

#14 Stevenson defeats #7 Baruch, 3-1 (25-20, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22) BOX SCORE

Kean defeats #2 Rivier, 3-2 (21-25, 25-18, 25-20, 27-29, 15-12) BOX SCORE

FRIDAY RESULTS:

#2 Rivier defeats #11 Elmira, 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-22) BOX SCORE

#12 Stevens defeats #14 Stevenson, 3-1 (25-22, 16-25, 25-22, 25-20) BOX SCORE

#11 Elmira defeats #7 Baruch, 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-21) BOX SCORE

#5 Nazareth defeats #14 Stevenson, 3-1 (25-15, 13-25, 25-22, 25-23) BOX SCORES

Emmanuel defeats #7 Baruch, 3-1 (23-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-16) BOX SCORE