Elmira College (8-4) vs. Benedictine University at Mesa (10-3)
Friday, February 19, 2016 | 6:30 P.M. EST | Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center – Thousand Oaks, CA
 
Elmira College (8-4) vs. UC Santa Cruz (10-3)
Elmira College (8-4) vs. Cal Lutheran (1-11)
Saturday, February 20, 2016 | 4:30 P.M. & 6:30 P.M. EST | Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center – Thousand Oaks, CA

Elmira, NY -- The 13th-ranked Elmira College men's volleyball team will ditch the snowy frontier of Upstate State New York for greener and sunnier pastures in Thousand Oaks, CA, when the team heads to the West Coast over midterm break. Elmira will play a total of three matches during its excursion to the West Coast, beginning with a Friday, February 19th, matchup with Benedictine University at Mesa.
 
Last Time Out
Elmira suffered a pair of five-set losses to open its conference schedule last weekend. After seeing Elmira rally from two-sets down, unranked MIT eked out a 15-12 fifth set to hand EC its first UVC loss of the season. The Soaring Eagles played much better in the nightcap against former No. 8 NYU, as the Elmira men took a 2-sets-to-1 lead. However, the Violets rallied later in the match to win a tight five-setter. EC held 12-11 leads in the fifth set of both matches.
 
Five-Set Woes
Up until last weekend, Elmira had been phenomenal in five-set matches. In Elmira's first 10 matches, four went the distance with the Purple and Gold prevailing in each of those matches. However, EC's fortunes in five-setters took a turn for the worse last weekend, as the Soaring Eagles dropped a pair to MIT and NYU. Elmira is 4-2 in five-set matches this year and are a shade above .500 in its history in those matches with a 21-19 record.
 
All Eyes on Ellison
With the absence of former All-American Erik Griffin '16, classmate Mike Ellison '16 has been Elmira's top option on the outside. The Victor, NY, native has seen his attempts per game rise in Griffin's absence from 6.0 to 8.2. As a result, Ellison has increased his kills per set average from 2.13 when Griffin is on court to 3.92 in his absence, which is nearly a full kill per set higher than his season average (3.02).
 
The Competition/All-Time Series
The Soaring Eagles will play a trio of teams this weekend, starting with Friday matchup with Benedictine University at Mesa. EC will then shift its focus to seventh-ranked UC Santa Cruz, before wrapping up play against Cal Lutheran.
 
Benedictine: Friday marks the first meeting between the programs in their respective histories.
UC Santa Cruz: The Banana Slugs lead the all-time series 3-1 (most recent win: UCSC in 2015, 3-1)
Cal Lutheran: Saturday marks the first meeting between the programs in their respective histories.
 
Looking Ahead
Upon its return to the East Coast, Elmira resumes its conference schedule with a Wednesday, February 24th, matchup with Penn State-Behrend. The Soaring Eagles travel out to Erie, PA, to face the Lions in a 7:00 p.m. showdown.