Score: Elmira College 3, California Lutheran University 2 [25-22, 23-25, 25-15, 22-25, 15-6]
Records: Elmira (19-7), Cal Lutheran (4-23)
Location: Rochester, NY - Kidera Gymnasium

Rochester, NY -- The No. 9 Elmira College men's volleyball team played into the fifth set for the second consecutive match at the Purple and Gold Invitational, capping off the tournament with a 3-2 victory over California Lutheran University.

Although the Soaring Eagles swept the season series from the Kingsmen 2-0, both victories required five sets. Additionally, EC went the distance last night against Medaille College, winning both the fourth and fifth sets to complete the come-from-behind victory.

Less than 24 hours after Mike Ellison '16 surpassed the 1,000-career kill plateau, classmate Erik Griffin '16 reached a tremendous milestone of his own. The reigning AVCA Second-Team All-American tied the program's all-time record for career kills at 1,440 and now shares the mark with Ryan Gelenitis '14. Griffin is also the current active kills leader in all of NCAA Division III and ranks second among all players in all divisions.

The opening set was tied several times, lastly at 22-all. The Soaring Eagles took the lead on a Mark Kawecki '17 kill. Following an attack error by Cal Lutheran's Nicholas Oertli, Ellison closed the set with his team-leading fifth kill of the first set.

Kawecki shone again in the third set, which Elmira dominated 25-15, as the junior recorded six of the team's 14 kills. Early in the set with the Soaring Eagles up 3-2, the Bangor, PA, native came alive to push the lead to a comfortable distance. He registered kills for three of EC's next five points, while adding a block assist, putting the Purple and Gold up 8-3. After scoring the set's first point, he also ended it with another kill.

The Kingsmen took advantage of Elmira's match-high 11 attack errors in the fourth set. While Cal Lutheran hit only .094 in the frame, the EC men mustered a .048 attack percentage. The offense, however, responded in a dominate fashion in the match's final set; Elmira attacked with a match-high .727 percentage.

In Their Own Words...
Head Coach Stephen England on toughing out back-to-back five-set wins over the weekend...
"It says a lot about our mental toughness. We have a lot of senior leadership, too, and that helps us make that push to the finish as well."

Coach England on the performance of Mark Kawecki...
"He played very well. He has been playing smart volleyball. When he had a chance to put it away, he took it. Then when the set wasn't perfect, he kept the ball in play. We have been pushing him to make better decisions and they paid off today."

Coach England reflects on the contributions Erik Griffin has made throughout his EC career...
"Erik is a special player. He has been a big part of our offense since he was a freshman. We are lucky to have a student-athlete that could come in and contribute in the starting line up since his first day on campus. I have been priviledged to have been able to coach him for four years."

Turning Point
Cal Lutheran took the first point of the fifth set with an Oertli kill, but Elmira quickly swung the momentum in its favor with a 4-0 run, sparked by another big kill from Kawecki. Griffin served up an ace and Andrew Johnson '16 gave EC a three-point lead with a solo block. The Soaring Eagles ended any thought of a Kingsmen comeback with another run, this time collecting three straight points off of kills from Dylan Kuhn '16 and Ellison, and a Kawecki ace to put Elmira up 9-3.

Inside the Box

• Elmira outhit Cal Lutheran .295-to-.175.
• EC finished with 64 kills, compared to only 46 for the Kingsmen.
• The Soaring Eagles also held advantages in aces (10-to-4), assists (60-to-42), and digs (49-to-35).
• Griffin led all players with 17 kills and recorded a double-double with 12 digs.
• Kawecki finished with 16 kills, followed by Ellison with 14.
• Johnson had nine kills without an error, equaling a match-high .643 attack percentage.
• Carlos Faccio '16 finished with a double-double of his own with 56 assists and 10 digs.
• Adam Dake '19 had a match-high 15 digs.
• Mikey Esper led the Kingsmen with 14 kills.
• Cal Lutheran's Nolan Forghani led all players with a match-high six total blocks.

News and Notes

• Elmira swept the season series from Cal Lutheran, 2-0.
• Both matches against the Kingsmen required five sets.
• Griffin's 17 kills put him in a tie for first place all-time in EC history in career kills, equaling the 1,440 posted by Ryan Gelenitis '14.
• Griffin is the active leader in NCAA Division III men's volleyball and ranks second among active NCAA players in all divisions.
• Kawecki's 16 kills are the most he's recorded in a match since finishing with 18 against MIT on February 13^th.
• EC served double-digit aces in consecutive matches for just the third time this season.

Up Next
The ninth-ranked Soaring Eagles return to Speidel Gymnasium on Thursday, March 24^th, to host the Wolfpack of Keuka College at 6:00 p.m. The team will also honor its graduating seniors in a special ceremony for Class of 2016 Recognition Day.