Score: MIT 3, Elmira College 2 [25-22, 25-22, 21-25, 19-25, 15-12]
Score: NYU 3, Elmira College 3 [17-25, 25-23, 31-33, 25-19, 15-13]
Records: Elmira (8-4, 0-2 UVC), MIT (11-4, 1-2 UVC), NYU (5-5, 2-0 UVC)
Location: Speidel Gymnasium – Elmira, NY
 
Elmira, NY -- The 13th-ranked Elmira College men's volleyball team opened its United Volleyball Conference (UVC) schedule at home today with a pair of matches against MIT and eighth-ranked NYU. Despite a pair of superb performances by the Soaring Eagles, Elmira would walk away from today's matches without a win, as EC suffered consecutive five-set losses.
 
Against MIT the Soaring Eagles got off to a slow start, as the Engineers claimed the opening two sets by identical scores of 25-22. However, the next two sets saw a vast improvement in Elmira's hitting, which helped the Purple and Gold even the match at 2-2.
 
Elmira hit .212 in the third, but really found its rhythm in the fourth with an ultra-high .452 attack percentage. During the fourth, EC's hitters zeroed in on their targets, making just one error during the entire set (15l-1e-31ta).
 
In the fifth set, MIT raced out to a 4-1 lead and eventually built it to 7-4. From there, EC won eight of the next 12 points to claim its first lead of the set since the opening point at 12-11. Unfortunately, an Engineer timeout derailed Elmira's comeback efforts, as MIT closed out the set by winning four straight to clinch the match, 3-2.
 
Against the No. 8 Violets, Elmira came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, which helped EC secure the first set 25-17. NYU answered in the second, edging Elmira by just two points, but the third would see the Soaring Eagles save four set points en route to pulling out a marathon set at 33-31, putting the Purple and Gold on top 2-1.
 
The third set was all NYU, as the Violets hit a blistering .636 from the floor, leading to a 25-19 score, which evened the match at two sets apiece.
 
In the fifth, both teams were able to piece together clusters of points, but NYU would hold the largest lead of the set at 10-7. Elmira rallied shortly after, as a kill by Dylan Kuhn '16 set the stage for a pair of NYU hitting errors, which evened the set at 10-all.
 
Kuhn's kill was one of five points Elmira won over the next six plays, putting the Purple and Gold on top 12-11. Unfortunately, Elmira was unable to maintain that momentum, as the Violets won four of the final five points to secure the set at 15-13, and claim the match at 3-2. 
 
Inside the Box Score (MIT)

• Elmira was the more consistent team from the floor, hitting .197 for the match (65k-34-e-157ta).
• MIT went 52k-27e-149ta from the floor, hitting .168.
• EC led in service ace as well, producing eight to MIT's three.
• Blocks were even at eight apiece.
• The Soaring Eagles had three players finish with double-digit kills.
• Ellison led all players with a match-high 22 kills.
• McDonough and Kawecki added 19 and 18, respectively.
• Faccio produced match highs in assists (56) and aces (5).
• EC also had three players log double-digit digs.
• Faccio led EC with a team-high 14 digs, while Ellison and Kaweick made 12 and 10, respectively.

 
Inside the Box Score (NYU)

• NYU was the better team from a hitting standpoint, producing a .207 attack percentage compared to EC's .173.
• Elmira held the edge in aces with nine to NYU's four.
• Blocks were fairly even, with NYU holding a slight edge, 16-15.
• Four EC players finished with double-digit kills, led by McDonough's 15.
• Ellison chipped in with 14 kills, while Kawecki and Johnson added 13 and 10, respectively.
• Johnson was EC's most efficient hitter, going .588 from the floor.
• Johnson was also Elmira's top defensive player at the net, as the senior middle logged seven blocks (one solo).  
• Kawecki led all players with a match-high three aces.
• Ellison and Faccio shared the team-lead in digs with nine apiece.
• Faccio registered a match-high 53 assists.

 
News and Notes

• Elmira opened its conference schedule with back-to-back losses for the first time since 2014, a year EC reached the UVC Tournament Semifinals.
• EC also suffers its first home losses of the year.
• The Soaring Eagles also lost their first five-set match of the 2016 season (4-2).
• Elmira's 65 kills against MIT was a season high.
• For the first time this season EC registered back-to-back 60-kill efforts.
• As a team, EC produced 22 block assists against NYU, which marked a season best.
• Ellison's 22 kills is his third 20-plus kill effort of the 2016 season.
• Faccio's 56 assists were a season high.
• Faccio has logged 50-plus assists in three straight matches.
• McDonough's 19 kills against MIT was a career high, as were his eight digs.
• Johnson produced season highs in kills (10), block assists (6), and total blocks (7).

 
Up Next
Elmira is back in action next Friday, February 19th, when the Soaring Eagles take flight, literally, to the West Coast for sunny California. EC faces Benedictine at Mesa on the 19th at 3:30 p.m.