NEWTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College men's volleyball team opened up Great Northeast Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon at Lasell College in a GNAC tri-match vs. the Lasers and the Mount Ida College Mustangs. The Saints fell to the host Lasers, 3-0 before rebounding with a 3-0 victory over Mount Ida. EC improve to 6-3 overall and 1-1 in GNAC action.

Match 1 vs. Lasell College (0-3, 20-25, 19-25, 29-31)

Despite a 15 kill outing by senior outside hitter Barrett Wingard (York, Pa.), the Saints fell in their GNAC opener to the Lasers, 3-0. Lasell improves to 3-0 in the conference and 7-4 overall.

EC junior setter Jorge Rojas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) was solid running the offense with a match-high 44 assists, nine of them going to rookie opposite Kevin Orsley (San Jose, Calif.). Senior middle hitter Julian Hess () added eight kills and senior libero Kevin Gallegos (Los Angeles, Calif.) registered a team-best seven digs.

Match 2 vs. Mount Ida College (3-0, 25-18, 25-22, 25-19)

The Saints grabbed their first GNAC win of 2016 over Mount Ida College, hitting .216 as a team en route to the straight set victory.

Wingard led the way with 11 kills while hitting .435 from the floor. Rookie outside hitter Erik English (Simi Valley, Calif.) recorded nine kills while Rojas dished out 26 assists. Gallegos (Los Angeles, Calif.) posted 10 digs.

The Saints return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 17 when they head to Springfield, Mass. for a rematch against #1 Springfield College at 7:00 PM. The Saints fell to the Pride last week at home, 3-1.