Score: No. 8 UC Santa Cruz 3 – No. 8 Elmira College 1 [28-30, 25-19, 25-20, 25-17]
Records: UC Santa Cruz (15-4), Elmira (17-6)
Location: Canavan Arena – Hoboken, NJ
 
Hoboken, NJ -- The No. 8 Elmira College men's volleyball team concluded its downstate swing on Sunday morning when it took on eighth-ranked University of California at Santa Cruz in a neutral site game at Stevens Institute of Technology Canavan Arena. The Soaring Eagles had already dispatched the Banana Slugs in straight sets on the West Coast earlier this season, but the California squad got the last laugh on Sunday, taking the match in four sets.
 
The opening set on Sunday morning proved to be a marathon, as both teams battled well into extra points to determine who would gain the early upper hand in the match. The opening frame showed little in the way of runs as the two squads traded points throughout the set.
 
EC staved off a set-point opportunity for UC Santa Cruz twice. Trailing 28-27, the Soaring Eagles strung together the first three-point run for either team to take the set 30-28. Clutch kills by Dylan Kuhn '16 and Adam Dake '19 set the Purple and Gold up for set point. They would get the decisive point on a attack error to snatch the early advantage in the match.
 
Elmira snagged the first two points in the second set, but the Banana Slugs found their game as the set continued. UC Santa Cruz put together a six-point run to secure an early advantage. EC closed the gap to just two points three separate times as the second frame continued, but were unable to get any closer in dropping the set 25-19.
 
Scoring runs continued to favor UC Santa Cruz in the swing third set. The Banana Slugs put together four-point and three-point scoring runs in the opening part of the frame to take a 13-8 lead halfway through the set. Again EC was able to cut the deficit with two a couple of times as the frame continued, but UC Santa Cruz staved off Elmira to take a two-sets-to-one advantage.
 
Sensing the match within their reach, UC Santa Cruz was scintillating with their hitting in the fourth. The Banana Slugs racked up 18 kills and only made on error in hitting .680 to close out the match with a 25-17 win in the decisive fourth set.
 
Inside the Box Score

• UC Santa Cruz outpaced Elmira 59-to-45 in kills.
• The Banana Slugs converted at a .380 clip, while the Soaring Eagles posted a .193 hitting percentage.
• UC Santa Cruz posted four service aces, while Elmira finished with one.
• The Banana Slugs narrowly edged the Soaring Eagles in total blocks 8-to-6.
• UC Santa Cruz was also very strong in their defensive on the ground, finishing with 38 digs compared to Elmira's 25.
• Erik Griffin '16 finished with 16 kills and seven digs to pace the Soaring Eagles.
• Mike Ellison '16 was strong on the opposite end, posting 12 kills on a .290 hitting percentage.
• Kuhn finished with four block assists to lead EC, also adding five kills on 13 total attacks.
• Dake finished with 36 assists.

 
News and Notes

• With the loss, Elmira has dropped two straight matches overall.
• The Soaring Eagles are now 3-3 in matches against nationally-ranked opponents this season.
• EC is now 2-4 all-time against UC Santa Cruz.
• Elmira falls to 3-5 on the year when hitting under .250 as a team.
• Griffin has now posted double-digit kills in 10 straight appearances since returning to the Elmira lineup. He has posted 10-or-more kills in 14 of his 16 appearances overall this year.

 
Up Next
The Elmira men return to action on Wednesday, March 16^th, when they face another stern test in nationally-ranked UVC rival Nazareth College. The Soaring Eagles will welcome the Golden Flyers to Speidel Gymnasium for a 7:00 p.m. start.