BOSTON – With the momentum of Senior Day in the gym, Emmanuel men's volleyball kept their chase for the No. 2 seed in the postseason alive, defeating the 20^th-ranked Lasell Lasers in a five-set thriller (17-25, 25-21, 31-33, 25-15, 18-16) on Saturday afternoon on Yosinoff Court in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play.

The Saints have won four consecutive matches and improve to 15-10 (7-3 GNAC) on the season. Saturday's win marks the second straight year the men's volleyball program has defeated a nationally ranked opponent after beating No. 13 SUNY New Paltz last season. The No. 20 Lasers fall to 19-6 (9-2 GNAC) with the loss.

Prior to the start of the match, Emmanuel Athletics recognized and celebrated the Class of 2025 seniors Aiden McGowan, Jyles Amirault, Thor Yingling, Louis Da Silva, Maximilian Olsen, and Jacob Aronov for their contributions to the program.

The momentum of a 9-1 run to end the fourth set carried into the final frame for Emmanuel, as their scoring surge continued with a 9-3 run to open play in the fifth. But the nation's 20th-ranked team would not surrender quietly as an 8-1 Lasers run helped them overtake the Saints and lead 11-10.

The Saints answered back but failed on a pair of match points while the Lasers held on and produced a match point of their own at 16-15. The incoming Lasell serve flew just out of bounds, leading to a 16-16 tie. Da Silva stepped to the service line and gave the Saints a 17-16 edge with an ace. On the third match point attempt for Emmanuel, McGowan and junior Trey Guest rose up for a combo block that found the Lasers side of the floor, resulting in the 17-15 fifth set win for the Saints.

After splitting the opening two sets, the momentum swung in the Lasers favor in the third, winning a marathon set, 33-31. In the best set of the afternoon, both teams finished with 22 team kills while hitting well over .300 from the floor. The Saints and Lasers combined for nine set points in the frame before the Lasers finally broke through thanks to a set-point kill by Jasper Schultz.

Despite falling behind 2-1 in sets, the Saints bounced back immediately in the fourth, pushing Saturday's match to five sets. With the Saints leading 16-14 in the fourth, the home side sprinted away from the visitors, scoring nine of the final 10 points of the set, as a set point block by junior Michael Shelley gave the Saints a 25-15 set win.

Shelley finished with a season-high 31 kills while hitting .393 from the floor in the win. Da Silva and Guest each finished with 15 kills, with Da Silva adding five service aces and a red hot .636 attack percentage. Sophomore Quincy Moore finished with a career-high 58 assists and a match-high seven total blocks.

Lasers outside hitter Theo Zaharewicz finished with a team-high 21 kills, hitting .474 from the floor. Schultz and Benjamin Walinjom matched the performances of Guest and Da Silva, finishing with 15 kills each. Trystan Maloney added a team-high 55 assists for the Lasers.

The Saints continue on with their conference schedule on Tuesday, April 1, hosting Dean College at 7:00 p.m. The Lasers travel to MIT on Wednesday, April 2, for a non-conference match at 7:00 p.m.