Score: Elmira College 3, Medaille College 0
Records: Elmira (4-0), Medaille (0-1)
Location: Owings Mills Gymnasium – Owings Mills, MD
 
Owings Mills, MD -- Elmira College men's volleyball improved to 4-0 on the year, as the Soaring Eagles downed Medaille College, 3-0. With the win, Elmira continues its best start in program history. Erik Griffin '16 paced the Elmira offense with a match-high 12 kills, while Ryan McDonough '18 chipped-in with eight. Carlos Faccio '16 was one dig away from a double-double, as the second-year setter produced match highs of 30 assists and four aces, as well as a team-high nine digs.
 
Elmira powered past the Mavericks in the opening set thanks to some hot hitting, as the Soaring Eagles hit a blistering .417 en route to a 25-16 first-set win. EC won seven of the set's first 10 points, which gave the Elmira men a comfortable lead they would never relinquish. Griffin put away a team-high five kills in the set, while Faccio made five digs and logged 11 assists.
 
The second set saw the Mavericks jump out to an early lead, which they eventually built to 15-7. However, Elmira went on to win the next six points, five of which were won while rookie Joe Hewes '19 was serving. Hewes served up two aces during that time.
 
EC stayed within two points of Medaille until the Mavericks took a four-point lead at 23-19. Thankfully, Elmira pieced together a mini 3-0 run on kills by Griffin, Faccio, and Ellison, which cut the lead to 23-22.
 
Medaille responded by winning the next point, giving the Mavericks a set point at 24-22. On the ensuing point, Griffin saved one set point with a kill, before Faccio produced an ace to even the set at 24-all.
 
From there, the teams traded the next four points, before Elmira was able to sideout on a kill by McDonough. On set point, a booming serve by Mark Kawecki '17 put the Mavericks in a vulnerable position, which turned into a bad set by Matt Dempsey, giving the Purple and Gold the second set at 28-26.
 
The third set was a tight one as neither team led by more than two points for the majority of the set. The score eventually stood even at 20-20 until the Soaring Eagles were able to string together four straight points to take a 24-20 lead. During that stretch, Ellison served up a pair of aces and registered one kill.
 
Medaille went on to win the next two points, but McDonough closed out the third with one of his eight kills, propelling Elmira to a 3-sets-to-0 victory.
 
In His Own Words…
Coach Stephen England shares his thoughts on how his team played tonight…
"We came out playing well. We were running the middles well and serving tough. That really helped us come out of the gates fast."
 
Coach England on his team's impressive comeback in the second set…
"We let our guard down at the beginning of the second set. We had to battle back and the key in that run was Joe Hewes. He helped make it a two-point set. We made some scrappy plays then executed tough serves under pressure to finish it out."
 
Coach England on Faccio's superb play…
"Carols has been coming in all week to study tape and work on our offensive game plan. His preparation this week really helped us in this win tonight."
 
Inside the Box Score

• Elmira hit .277 for the match on a 40-17-83 stat line.
• Medaille hit .230 from the floor on a 29-12-74 stat line.
• EC produced 10 aces compared to Medaille's four.
• Elmira also had the edge in digs at 28-22.
• Griffin led all hitters with a match-high 12 kills.
• McDonough added eight kills.
• Dylan Kuhn '16 put way six kills on an ultra-high .857 hitting percentage.
• Faccio filled up the stat sheet with 30 assists, nine digs, and four service aces.
• Ellison and Hewes were effective as servers tonight, as they logged three and two aces, respectively.

 
News and Notes

• Elmira continues its best start in program history with a 4-0 overall record.
• Three of Elmira's four wins have come in the form of 3-0 sweeps.
• Elmira's 10 aces are a season high.
• Faccio's 30-assist performance is his second consecutive match with 30-plus helpers.
• Griffin's 12 kills marks his third match this season with 10 or more.
• Hewes matches his career-high for aces with two.
• Ellison's three aces are a season high.

 
Up Next
Elmira concludes play at the Stevenson Invitational tomorrow with a pair of matches against Thiel College and Stevenson University. Tomorrow's matches are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. at Stevenson's Owings Mills Gymnasium.