Despite his rookie status, Jose Malave '21 has quickly established himself as a key contributor for the EC men's volleyball team. At the 2018 Elmira College Invitational, he helped the Soaring Eagles sweep their four matches and extend their win streak to five straight. Overall, Malave led the team with 3.08 kills per set and 11 service aces in the tournament, while finishing just one kill shy of the team lead (40) and notching 19 digs.
The San Juan, Puerto Rico, native opened the invite with six kills, four aces and three digs in a 3-0 victory over Keuka in the first match of the tournament on Friday, and then proceeded to break the program record for attack percentage in the nightcap versus Thiel. In the straight-set victory, Malave floored 14 kills with just one error on 15 total tries, equaling an eye-popping rate of .867, breaking the former record set by teammate Matthew Buffum '18 last season (.812). On Saturday morning, Malave posted eight kills, three aces and two blocks in Elmira's 3-1 triumph against D'Youville. He closed the tournament with a 12-kill, 11-dig double-double and a season-high-tying four aces in a narrow 3-2 victory against Wells.
Through the first seven matches of his collegiate career, Malave ranks second on the team in several categories, including kills (72), kills per set (2.57), aces (12) and digs (53). He ranks seventh in the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) in aces per set (0.43) and 10th in digs per set (1.89).
Malave and the Soaring Eagles will hit the road for a quartet of matches this weekend in the state of Ohio, beginning with a tri-match at Mt. St. Joseph. Elmira will face Dominican (Ill.) on Friday, February 2, at 6:30 p.m., before taking on the host Lions at 8:00 p.m.
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