New York, NY – The Elmira College Men's Volleyball team dropped a heartbreaker in the Quarterfinal round of the United Volleyball Conference Championships, 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 11-25, 25-13, 9-15), to No. 10 Medaille Saturday evening. The win improves the three seeded Mavericks to 23-8, while the loss drops the six seeded Soaring Eagles to 22-17.
 
No. 14 Elmira dropped a highly competitive first set 25-20, before prevailing in an equally close second set, 25-23. Medaille controlled the third set easily 25-11, but EC fought back to dispose of the Mavericks 25-13 in the fourth set, forcing the decisive fifth frame. The Purple and Gold gave it their best to the bitter end but Medaille would hold on to win 15-9 and earn a spot in the UVC Semifinals.
 
Ryan Gelenitis '14 (Brick, NJ -- Christian Brothers Academy)  led the Soaring Eagles with 18 kills, three service aces, eight digs and two assisted blocks. Wyatt Hamilton '15 (Jupiter, FL -- Suncoast) and Eric Sandmann '14 (Glenville, NY -- Burnt Hills) tallied seven kills apiece, while Michael Vellutato '14 (Topanga, FL -- Redondo Union) paced the EC attack dishing out 43 assists, recording 11 digs, and three assisted blocks. Nick Scalia '15 (Huntingdon, PA -- Huntingdon) finished with 12 digs, while Ryan Nerney '14 (Niskayuna, NY -- Niskayuna) registered four kills and five assisted blocks.
 
The EC Men's Volleyball team will now await the NCAA Division III Selection Show to see if it can earn an at-large bid into the postseason tournament. The Soaring Eagles have played one of the toughest schedules in the nation and compete in a conference which currently has seven teams in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 15 poll.