New Paltz, NY -- The No. 11 Elmira College men's volleyball team split a pair of matches at the final UVC Tri-Match of the 2015 season, dropping their opening match to host No. 3 SUNY New Paltz 3-0 before downing Bard College in the nightcap by an identical score.  With the conclusion of UVC play, Elmira has successfully secured the fifth seed in this year's UVC Tournament. 
 
Third-year middle blocker Dylan Kuhn '16 led Elmira in the two matches, totaling a team-high 13 kills and four total blocks, all of which came on block assists. Erik Griffin '16 and Mark Kawecki '17 were the only other two players to finish with double-digit kills in the two matches.  Griffin logged 10 kills to go along with four digs and three blocks.  Kawecki also tallied 10 kills as well as four digs in four sets played.
 
Setting up the Elmira attack this afternoon was a pair of classmates in Tyler Smith '15 and Evan Clarke '15, who finished with 26 and 24 assists, respectively.  Defensively, Rob Shade '15 led the charge on the floor with 13 digs while rookie middle blocker Matthew Bryk '18 finished with a team-high five blocks. 
 
Match One Recap
Elmira 0, New Paltz 3 – 25-16, 25-16, 25-20
Against the No. 3 Hawks, Elmira's hitting woes continued from the previous day as the Soaring Eagles posted a hitting percentage of -.057.  On the other hand, New Paltz seemed to be in perfect rhythm, hitting .355 from the floor.
 
Elmira spread out their attack with four players taking 10 or more hitting attempts.  However, the New Paltz blockers seemed to key-in on Griffin, who is third in the nation in kills per set, limiting him to just four kills on 19 attempts.  The focus on Griffin paid off as New Paltz went on to sweep Elmira, 3-0. 
 
Match Two Recap
Elmira 3, Bard 0 – 25-13, 25-21, 25-17
In Elmira' second match of the day, the Soaring Eagles flexed their muscle as they overpowered Bard for a 3-0 victory.  Just like in the first match of the day, EC spread out their attack as five players logged 10 or more attempts, with Dylan Kuhn getting the majority of looks, putting 10 of his 21 attempts away for kills.  Kuhn's 10 kills marks the second time this season he has finished with 10 or more. 
 
Tyler Smith and Evan Clarke had superb performances as the duo combined for 33 assists, 19 for Smith and 14 for Clarke.  Rob Shade also had a standout match, finishing with 10 of his weekend's 13 digs. 
 
Elmira will be back in action this Friday, April 3rd when EC hosts Baruch College and D'Youville College on the first day of the Soaring Eagle Invitational.  The Elmira men open play on Friday against Baruch at 4:30 p.m. in Speidel Gymnasium.