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Elmira, NY -- In a battle of two nationally ranked teams, it was the Elmira College men's volleyball team (3-1, 1-0 UVC) that came out on top as the No. 13 Soaring Eagles downed No. 15 Medaille College (1-1, 0-1 UVC), 3-1, in their home opener. The win is EC's first United Volleyball Conference victory of the season and their second win over a ranked opponent.

The Purple and Gold opened tonight's match in good form as the men pulled out a close first set, 25-22. Medaille showed their resiliency, however, by knotting the match up at one set apiece after taking the second set 25-15. The Soaring Eagles regrouped after dropping the second set and put together two quality sets in sets three and four to seal the victory.

Erik Griffin '16 was one of three Elmira players with double-digit kills as he led the Soaring Eagles with 16 on the night. Mike Ellison '16 posted 13 kills while Ryan Gelenitis '14 recorded 11. Michael Vellutato '14 set up his teammates all night long as the senior tallied 43 assists in the match.

On the defensive side, Rob Shade '15 recorded a game-high 19 digs, the only Elmira player with a double-digit dig effort. EC, as a team, recorded 11 total blocks with Griffin accounting for 3.5 of them (two solo blocks, three block assists). Also getting in on the block parade were Gelenitis (one solo block and two block assists), Dylan Kuhn '16 (one solo block and one block assist), Andrew Johnson '16 (four block assists), Vellutato (two block assists), and Ryan Nerney '14 (two block assists).

The Purple and Gold will be back in action tomorrow, January 30th when they host No. 6 UC Santa Cruz in a non-conference match. The match is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. in Speidel Gymnasium.