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Score: No. 12 Elmira College 3 – No. 15 Mount St. Joseph University 2 [25-22, 20-25, 27-25, 13-25, 16-14]
Record: Elmira (3-0); Mount St. Joseph (2-1)
Location: Speidel Gymnasium – Elmira, NY
 
Elmira, NY -- In a battle between two Top-15 nationally-ranked teams, it would be 12th-ranked Elmira College men's volleyball who would march away with a five-set win [25-22, 20-25, 27-25, 13-25, 16-14] over No. 15 Mount St. Joseph University. Senior Mike Ellison '16 and Dylan Kuhn '16 paced the Soaring Eagles with a pair of standout performances. Ellison produced a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs, while Kuhn put away 10 kills on an ultra-impressive .692 hitting percentage to go along with three block assists.
 
The two nationally-ranked foes split the opening sets, with the Soaring Eagles claiming the first and the Lions taking the second. Most of Elmira's success in the opening set was due to its efficient hitting, as the Purple and Gold hit a match-high .571 percent. However, EC struggled from the floor in the second, as Elmira connected at just a .133-percent clip. Combine that with the Lions siding-out at a 75 percent rate, and the match score stood even at 1-1.
 
In the third, Elmira flexed its muscle early on, and eventually held a sizeable 20-13 lead. From that point on, Mount St. Joseph regrouped and staged a major comeback. The Lions went on an 11-3 run to take their first lead since the opening serve of the set.
 
With EC facing set point, Mount St. Joseph's Jake Neiheisel served up an error, breathing life back into an Elmira squad that looked to be on the ropes. The extra bit of help from the Lions allowed Elmira to win three of the next four points, capped by an Ellison kill, to give the Purple and Gold a 2-sets-to-1 lead.
 
The fourth set was all Mount St. Joseph, in large part due to the serving ability of Zach Kuebler, who guided the Lions to eight straight points to open the set. He produced two aces in that time, but the real value of his serving was the pace he put on the ball, as Elmira struggled to piece together decent passes to set up their attack. As a result, Elmira's sideout percentage for the set stood at a season-low 40 percent. The Lions went on to win the fourth in dominant fashion, 25-13.
 
After dropping the third by such a large margin, a strong start for the Soaring Eagles would be crucial to setting the tone in the deciding set. Thankfully, Elmira was able to derail some of Mount St. Joseph's momentum, as the teams traded leads through the first nine points, with EC holding a slim 5-4 edge.
 
Mount St. Joseph strung together three straight points to take its largest lead of the set, 7-5. The Lions extended that lead to 9-7, before Elmira won back-to-back points on a pair of kills from Erik Griffin '16, which evened the set at 9-9.
 
The teams once again traded the next six points, but an errant set by EC on the seventh point put the Lions on top 13-12. The following point was a good one, as both teams had chances to put the ball away. However, nerves got the better of the Lions' Nathan Herdeman, who committed a ball handling error at a critical moment that leveled the score at 13-all.
 
A bit of luck struck Elmira, as the ensuing serve by Ellison clipped the net and dropped to the floor for an ace, giving EC a match point. Alex Vohland answered on the next point with a kill but would hand the it right back over with a shaky serve that sailed into the net, putting Elmira back on top 15-14.
 
With their second match point on the line, Elmira put the ball in the hands of Ryan McDonough '18. On the serve, McDonough pumped one into the middle of the court and on the attack by the Lions, a great dig by Ryan Branigan '19 kept the play alive. Branigan's dig found Griffin on the left side of the court, where he lofted the ball to McDonough, who precisely placed it over the net and into empty space.
 
McDonough's pass seemed harmless, but miscommunication by Mount St. Joseph's back line allowed the ball to drop, forcing Lyle Lehmann to make a diving effort to keep the ball alive. Lehmann's attempt would be unsuccessful, as the Soaring Eagles escaped an early-season scare against Mount St. Joseph, 3-2.  
 
In His Own Words…
Head Coach Stephen England on his team's performance…
"I'm super proud of the guys and the way that they fought back, especially in that fifth set. We had a tough time in the fourth set with [Zach Kuebler] keeping us out of system with a great serving run. We did a great job battling back after falling behind in the fifth. Just super proud of the guys and the hard work everyone has been putting in."
 
England on what led to the comeback…
"We really relied on our training to put us in the right spot with an opportunity to win the match. We were serving tougher. That game to 15 is really up for grabs and it usually comes down to which team serves better. Our serving really helped us get back into it."
 
England on the team's resiliency…
"It really boiled down to our senior leadership and our maturity. We try to recreate in practice those tight competitive moments that occur in matches like this. I think the guys used that to remain calm  and composed, which in turn helped them get the job done today."
 
England on four players with double-digit kills…
"It's our system, which really calls for balance. If we're going to compete at the highest level we possibly can, we need everybody to be productive. The expectation is that everyone knows their role. We really get opposing teams off their game when we play balanced. I think we can continue to grow in this area, but today was certainly a step forward."
 
England on sweeping the weekend invitational…
"I think it's huge. We got to start off on the right foot. We talked about how important non-conference wins are when the NCAA Tournament selection committee evaluates the overall body of work. We started off on the right foot and we're still going to take it day-by-day."
 
England on Dylan Kuhn's performance…
"He's a senior that has really made great strides in learning how to be a complete volleyball player. He came into the program as a player who was just looking to block everything, but now he's really become an offensive force for us. It's such a great luxury to have a middle that is so offensively productive."
 
Inside the Box

• Elmira finished with 57 kills to Mount St. Joseph's 50.
• The Lions, however, outhit the Soaring Eagles with a .226 attack percentage, while EC hit .190.
• Mount St. Joseph also finished with an advantage in aces (7-to-3) and blocks (16-to-9).
• The Soaring Eagles hit at a rate of .571 in the first set, EC's best attack percentage in 11 sets played so far this season.
• Elmira registered 60 digs, eight more than Mount St. Joseph.
• Griffin led the Purple and Gold in kills with 14, followed by Ellison and McDonough with 13.
• Ellison also had 11 digs for EC's only double-double.
• Kuhn finished with 10 kills and attacked at a game-high .692 rate.
• Branigan recorded a game-high 20 digs.
• Carlos Faccio '16 registered 32 assists.
• Mount St. Joseph's Alex Vohland led all players with 19 kills to go along with 11 digs for the double-double.

 
News and Notes

• Elmira is now 3-0 on the season, the best start to a season in program history.
• The win versus Mount St. Joseph was the first against a nationally-ranked opponent this season.
• EC is now 2-1 all-time against the Lions.
• The Soaring Eagles' 29 attack errors are the most in a single match since EC had 36 in a five-set win over Baruch on April 3, 2015.
• Griffin now has 64 matches with 10-plus kills in his career.
• With three block assists in today's match, Kuhn is now in sole possession of the EC career record for block assists with 209, breaking his tie with Michael Vellutato '14 (206).

 
Up Next
No. 12 Elmira will travel to Owings Mills, MD, for three matches at the Stevenson Invitational next weekend, beginning with a 7:00 p.m. match against Medaille College on Friday, January 29th.