Elmira, NY -- The No. 15 Elmira College men's volleyball team (16-8, 2-1 UVC) finished the Mark Twain Cup with a perfect 4-0 record with a 3-0 UVC win over Penn St.- Behrend and a 3-0 victory over Wells College today. Carlos Faccio '16 led the EC men with 77 total assists and added 17 digs in the wins.
 
Match One Recap
Elmira 3, Penn St.- Behrend – 25-21, 25-17, 25-20
 
The Purple and Gold jumped out to a quick 11-6 lead, causing a Lion timeout. Penn St.- Behrend regrouped after the break and went on a 7-3 run to deadlock the game up at 13 apiece. The EC men then went on a 9-4 run to go up 22-17. The Lions battled back, however, EC's lead would prove to be too much as Elmira would hold on to win the set 25-21 and take a 1-0 set lead.
 
Both teams went back-and-forth in the first half of the second set until the game was tied at 11-11. EC would then take control of the set, finishing with a 14-6 run to win 25-17 and take the 2-0 set lead.
 
Elmira would keep the momentum going in the third set as the Purple and Gold took an early 15-9 lead. However, the Lions would score the set's next four points to trail 15-13. A 4-1 run by the EC men would put the Soaring Eagles up 19-14. Penn St.- Behrend would battle the rest of the set, however, the Purple and Gold would go on to win the set 25-20 and take the 3-0 match victory.
 
Mike Ellison '16 and Erik Griffin '16 led on offense with 16 and 11 kills, respectively. Faccio set up the offense with 38 assists while Rob Shade '15 led on the defensive end of the court with seven digs.
 
Match Two Recap
Elmira 3, Wells 0 – 25-22, 25-18, 25-23
 
The Purple and Gold would jump out to an early 7-3 lead, however, the Express responded with the set's next five points to lead 8-7. Elmira would go on a 5-2 run to take a 12-10 lead. The rest of the set was back-and-forth as neither team would score more than two consecutive points. The Purple and Gold would go on to win the set, 25-22 and take a 1-0 set lead.
 
Elmira would once again take a quick 7-3 lead in the second set and would go on to claim an 18-7 lead later in the set. The Express would then score the set's next six points to trail 18-13, however, the Purple and Gold's early lead would prove too much to overcome as the EC men took the second set, 25-18 and a 2-0 set lead.
 
The EC men started the third set with a 7-0 run that was highlighted with big plays from freshmen Matthew Bryk '18 who produced two blocks assists, one solo block, and a kill in the run. The Express then scored the set's next four points to cut EC's lead to 7-4, however, the Purple and Gold would respond with an 8-4 run to lead, 15-8. Wells scored the set's next 10 points to take a 18-16 lead, however, the Soaring Eagles would regroup and go on to win the third set and complete the 3-0 sweep.
 
Three EC players registered double-digit kills in the second game of the day with Mark Kawecki '17 leading all with 15. Felix Garcia Ramos '16 and Tyler Smith '15 were behind Kawecki with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Faccio produced match-highs in both assists and digs with 39 and 12, respectively, while Evan Clarke '15 posted nine digs and two assists in the win.
 
The Purple and Gold will compete next on March 7th when the Soaring Eagles travel to Cambridge, MA for a UVC Crossover at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The EC men will take on host No. 11 MIT at 11:00 a.m. before facing No. 2 Stevens Institute of Technology at 2:00 p.m.