Elmira College (17-6, 2-3 UVC) vs. Nazareth College (19-6, 2-2 UVC)
Wednesday, March 16, 2016 | 7:00 P.M. | Speidel Gymnasium – Elmira, NY
Live Coverage | Twitter: @ECSoaringEagles
 
Elmira, NY -- Playoff implications are on the line tonight, as the ninth-ranked Elmira College men's volleyball team clashes with eighth-ranked Nazareth College in an all-important UVC showdown. The opening serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at EC's Speidel Gymnasium.
 
Last Time Out
Elmira suffered a four-set loss to eighth-ranked UC Santa Cruz in its last contest on March 6th. The Soaring Eagles won the opening set, but not without a fight, as Elmira edged the Banana Slugs 30-28. Unfortunately, Elmira was unable to build on that first-set win, as UC Santa Cruz won the next three set handily (25-19, 25-19, 25-17). Erik Griffin '16 and Mike Ellison '16 led the offense with double-digit kills. Griffin finished the day with 16, while Ellison added another 12.
 
Ellison Approaches 1,000 Kills
Fourth-year outside hitter Mike Ellison '16 has been a staple of the Elmira College men's volleyball program since his arrival in 2013. The Victor, NY, native sits on 978 career kills entering tonight's matchup with the Golden Flyers. He is 22 kills shy of becoming just the third player in program history to reach the 1,000-kill plateau.
 
UVC Playoff Push
Elmira sits in seventh place in the conference standings with a 2-3 UVC record. With only the top six teams making the playoff field, Elmira's push for a postseason bid begins with tonight's matchup with the Golden Flyers, who sit in sixth place in the conference standings with a 2-2 UVC record.
 
Scouting Nazareth
The Golden Flyers enter Wednesday's UVC clash with an impressive 19-6 record and a No. 8 AVCA national ranking. However, Nazareth has hit a bit of a rough patch as of late, going 3-3 in its last six matches; all three losses have come against nationally-ranked opponents. Nazareth will look to turn things around tonight on the road against Elmira, but that will not be an easy task whatsoever. The Golden Flyers are 2-2 in true road matches this year and have not beaten Elmira at Speidel Gymnasium since 2013 when Nazareth was ranked second in the country. In order for Naz to turn things around, it will need a strong performance from two-time AVCA All-American Tim Zyburt. Zyburt leads the team with a 3.49 kills per set average, but the Wheaton, IL, product has seen that average rise to 4.08 over his last three matches. Jake Kemp will also be a key player for Nazareth this evening, as the second-year setter owns the nation's fourth-highest assist per set average (10.8).
 
All-Time Series
Elmira and Nazareth are familiar foes, as the two programs have matched up 10 times in their respective histories. The Golden Flyers own a decisive 8-2 record in the all-time series, but the Soaring Eagles have two wins in the last three meetings. Additionally, both wins for Elmira occurred on its home court at Speidel Gymnasium.
 
Looking Ahead
Following tonight's UVC bout, the Soaring Eagles hit the road for a pair of non-conference matches at Nazareth's home court at Kidera Gymnasium on Friday and Saturday, March 18th and 19th. EC faces Medaille College on the 18th at 8:00 p.m. and clashes with Cal Lutheran the following day at 3:00 p.m.