Elmira, NY -- After falling in the day's opening match to No. 10 NYU in four sets (25-27, 25-22, 25-21, 25-22), the Elmira College men's volleyball team bounced back, earning a 3-1 win (25-19, 23-25, 25-16, 25-9) over Vassar College in the second leg of today's UVC Tri-Match, hosted by the Soaring Eagles at Speidel Gymnasium.  With the split, Elmira's overall record stands at 10-7 with a 1-1 mark in UVC play.
 
Erik Griffin '16 set the tone on offense for Elmira today, totaling 30 kills in the two matches, including an 18-kill effort in EC's win over Vassar.  Griffin also had a good day on the defensive side of the ball, posting 10 digs and nine total blocks. Rookie Matthew Buffum '18 also had a solid outing for the Soaring Eagles, totaling 14 kills, 11 of which came against Vassar.  He also finished with a team-high 11 total blocks.
 
Elmira's starting setter, Carlos Faccio '16, continued to produce for the Soaring Eagles, finishing with 68 assists and a team-high 10 aces. Six of his 10 aces came against NYU, while 38 of his assists were recorded against Vassar. 
 
Rob Shade '15 also had a noteworthy Sunday afternoon, as the defensive specialist tallied 25 digs, including a season-high 18 digs against Vassar.
 
The Soaring Eagles will be back in action this Saturday, February 21st, when the Purple and Gold travel to Rochester, NY to compete in the Nazareth College Quad-Match.  Elmira's only match of the weekend will be against Ramapo College, a 1:30 p.m. match at Nazareth's Kidera Gymnasium.
 
Match One Recap
Elmira 1, NYU 3 – 25-27, 25-22, 25-21, 25-22
The Violets of NYU jumped out to a big lead in the early goings of the first set, holding leads of 10-4 and 14-9, before taking a late three-point lead at 20-17.  However, Elmira would win three consecutive points to even the game at 20-20 to put themselves back into the set. 
 
EC had a chance to take the set at 24-23, but a service error by Faccio tied things up at 24-all.  Then, NYU had a chance to serve for the set at 25-24, but a kill by Andrew Johnson '16 leveled things at 25-25.  Johnson's kill would be the first of three straight points for Elmira, as a kill by Griffin and an attack error by NYU's Phil Bueno clinched the set for the Purple and Gold, 27-25. 
 
Unfortunately for Elmira, this would be the only set they would win against NYU as the No. 10 Violets won three straight to take the match, 3-1.  Credit a large part of NYU's success to their blocking ability as they finished with 30 total blocks, 11 coming from Bueno.  NYU's blocking efforts stymied EC's offense as the Soaring Eagles were held to a .032 hitting percentage for the match, their second lowest percentage of the year. 
 
Match Two Recap
Elmira 3, Vassar 1 – 25-19, 23-25, 25-16, 25-9
Elmira's hitting greatly improved from their first match of the day, as the Soaring Eagles posted a team hitting percentage of .306, including a .484 mark in the first set, one that included 15 kills on 31 attempts with zero errors.  Also improving in EC's second match was their success in contesting Vassar's hitting attempts, as the Soaring Eagles logged a season-high 25 total blocks.
 
After a not so efficient first match, Griffin showed how lethal he can be when things are clicking, as he finished with 18 kills on 36 attempts with just two errors for a hitting percentage of .444. Griffin also got it done on the defensive end as well, totaling seven blocks and six digs.
 
Buffum also showed that he can be a steady contributor for the Soaring Eagles, finishing with a stat line of 11 kills, two errors, on 20 attempts for a team-high hitting percentage of .450. The rookie talent also logged nine total blocks, one solo and eight assisted.