UVC Championships Central 

Elmira, NY -- For the third year in a row, the Elmira College men's volleyball team finds itself playing in the United Volleyball Conference Tournament. EC has been defeated in the quarterfinals of the UVC Tournament in each of the last two seasons, this year however, the Soaring Eagles are prepared to take that next step and make a run for their first UVC Championship.
 
The Purple and Gold have already set a handful of new milestones this season, including wins, conference wins, and top-10 wins, not to mention achieving their highest national ranking and best conference finish in program history. EC accomplished many of their preseason goals as they have vaulted into the ranks of the nation's elite, but the Soaring Eagles are not changing anything as they enter the postseason.
 
"We are going to stay with our routines" said 2014 UVC Co-Coach of the Year Stephen England. "Just because it is the playoffs does not mean that we change the way we do things. Those routines and our approach is what brought us here and it is important that we stick with that no matter the situation."
 
The first item on the docket for Elmira is to advance past the quarterfinals of the UVC Tournament. To do that, EC will have to defeat ninth-ranked Medaille College, one of the hottest teams in the nation, for the third time this season. Medaille started the season 4-6, two of those losses coming from the Purple and Gold, but the Mavericks closed the regular season by winning 14 of 16 matches, which included a 13-match win streak. It is never easy to beat a team three times in one season, but for Coach England and his Soaring Eagles, that reality will happen if the team does one thing, execute.
 
"We got to face Medaille twice earlier in the season before they went on their big win streak. It's going to be a challenge for our guys, but having a week to practice specifically for their system will help us. We will go in with our game plan and execute that game plan, an approach we have been taking all year."
 
The UVC Tournament seedings were released nearly three weeks ago and each member of the men's volleyball team has been looking forward to Saturday's quarterfinal match ever since. EC went 4-2 over the last two weekends of the regular season, including defeating Nazareth College for the first time in program history, but those matches are a thing of the past as this entire week of practice has been devoted to getting past Medaille on Saturday.
 
"Coach has been saying this entire week that we are game-planning only for Medaille and that has really helped us remain focused in practice" said Captain Ryan Nerney '14. "It reminded us that we have one team to beat if we want to move forward because nothing else matters if we lose to Medaille in the quarterfinals."
 
The Soaring Eagles are led by recently crowned UVC Player of the Year Michael Vellutato '14. Vellutato, who also received a First Team All-Conference selection, is second in the UVC and third in the nation in assists per set at 10.20. Additionally, the Topanga, CA native ranks seventh in the conference in aces per set and set career-highs with 85 kills and 211 digs.
 
EC boasts a balanced offensive attack, but Second Team All-Conference recipient Erik Griffin '16 emerged as the go-to hitter in his second year at EC. Griffin notched a career-high, and a team-high, 338 kills while playing in 26 of 32 regular season matches. He averaged 3.63 kills per set, ranking him fifth in the UVC and tied for 20th in all of NCAA Division III men's volleyball in kills per set.
 
Manning the opposite outside hitter position is Ryan Gelenitis '14, who, along with Vellutato, is one of the original seven members of the EC men's volleyball team. For Gelenitis, who is second on the team with 281 kills, bringing home a UVC Championship would mean everything to him and his teammates.
 
"Winning the UVC Championship would be huge" said Gelenitis. "A conference championship has been our goal since day one, so to finally be able to say we are the champions would mean a whole lot."
 
The fourth-seeded men's volleyball team opens the 2014 UVC Tournament on Saturday, April 12th at 10:30 a.m. against the fifth-seeded Mavericks of Medialle College.