Greenville, PA – The Elmira College Men's Volleyball team went 1-1 on the second day of the Thiel College AVI Invitational on Sunday. EC suffered a tough loss against Stevenson University 1-3 (16-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-27) and pulled off a great win against Eastern Mennonite University 3-2 (25-16, 18-25, 25-15, 19-25, 15-13). The Soaring Eagles now move to 9-5 overall on the season.

 

Against Stevenson, Elmira struggled early dropping the first two sets 16-25 and 19-25. However, the Soaring Eagles did not give up fighting hard in the third and fourth set. EC was able to steal the third set from the Mustangs, 25-23, but could not hang on in the fourth set, losing 25-27 to end the match. Ryan Gelenitis '14 (Brick, NJ -- Christian Brothers Academy) and Michael Vellutato '14 (Topanga, CA -- Redondo Union) proved to be the stars for EC in the opening match. Gelenitis led the team with 24 kills, while Vellutato finished with 50 assists. Also helping out the team were Mike Stianche '15 (Bethlehem, PA -- Bethlehem Catholic) and Ladislav Lelkes '15 (Bratislava, SVK -- Esprit) who combined for 22 kills, two aces and six digs.

 

Against Eastern Mennonite, Elmira proved to be the tougher team. In the first and third sets the Soaring Eagles dominated the Royals with almost identical set scores, 25-16 and 25-15. In the second and fourth sets the Royals controlled the Soaring Eagles, 25-18 and 25-19, forcing a fifth and deciding set. In the fifth set both teams battled tough making the match come down to the last two points where EC prevailed 15-13. Gelenitis and Stianche led the Soaring Eagles attack with 16 and 14 kills, respectively. Gelenitis also recorded two aces, four digs and two blocks, while Stianche tallied one ace, nine digs and one block. Vellutato also chipped in with 50 assists, two aces and five digs. Stepping up for the Purple and Gold were Ryan Nerney '14 (Niskayuna, NY -- Niskayuna) and Tyler Smith '15 (North Syracuse, NY -- Cicero-North Syracuse).  Nerney recorded nine kills and four blocks, while Smith contributed 10 kills and four blocks.

The Elmira College Men's Volleyball team will travel to Hoboken, NJ to play its first conference matches of the year. Their first match will take place on Saturday, February 11^th against Bard College at 3:00 p.m.