Jose Malave '21, a second-year outside hitter, helped the EC men's volleyball team earn three victories at Arcadia University's Knight Classic by recording a team-leading 65 kills and a kills-per-set average of 3.61. He finished with double-digit kills in all but one match and picked up the first double-double of his sophomore campaign in a five-set win over Ramapo.
A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Malave opened the weekend with 16 kills and season highs for digs (13) and aces (8) in a 3-2 win over the Roadrunners on Saturday. He also floored 16 kills in Elmira's only loss of the weekend, a five-set defeat against No. 12 nationally-ranked Arcadia. On Sunday, Malave added six kills, five aces and three digs in a 3-0 sweep of John Jay, followed by a career-high 27 kills to guide the Soaring Eagles to a 3-2 comeback win over Eastern Mennonite in the final match of the tournament. Malave's 27 kills are the most by a Soaring Eagle in a match since former All-American Erik Griffin '16 had 32 in a five-set match at Cal Lutheran on February 20, 2016.
Through the first six matches of the 2019 campaign, Malave ranks third in the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) in kills per set with 3.52 and fifth in aces per set with 0.72.
Elmira men's volleyball returns to action on Tuesday, January 29, when the Purple and Gold visit Division II Daemen for a non-conference match at 6:00 p.m.
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