Score: No. 15 Juniata College 3, Elmira College 0 (25-20, 25-21, 27-25)
Score: Lasell College 3, Elmira College 0 (25-17, 25-21, 27-25)
Records: Elmira (1-3), Juniata (1-2), Lasell (2-0)
Location: Newark, N.J. - The Golden Dome

NEWARK, N.J. -- The Elmira College men's volleyball team was unable to build off of Friday's win over No. 11-ranked Rutgers University-Newark, as the Soaring Eagles were swept in three sets by both No. 15 Juniata College and Lasell College in day two of the Golden Dome Invitational.

Although the Soaring Eagles were unable to take a set off of either team, the Soaring Eagles were in contention all but one against the Lasers in the nightcap. In the second set against the nationally-ranked Eagles, EC went on a 9-4 run to turn a 14-10 hole into a one-point lead. Matt Straney '20 had a hand in back-to-back blocks to give Elmira a 19-18 advantage, but Juniata tallied six of the final seven points to secure the 25-20 win.

In third set, Elmira won 6-of-7 points to climb from behind and take a 22-20 lead, and even though the Soaring Eagles saved a trio of points, a trio of late service aces by Juniata helped the Eagles close out the match with a 27-25 third set.

The nightcap versus Lasell ended in similar fashion. Down after dropping the opening set, a Matthew Buffum '18 kill and ace on consecutive points brought EC within one, 21-20, but the Lasers closed the set by winning four of the next five points. Even the third set against Lasell concluded with a 27-25 score, just like the first match of the day. Mark Kawecki '17 had his eyes on forcing a fourth set and posted seven of his 11 kills from the match in the third. The Soaring Eagles held several five-point advantages, lastly at 21-16, but the Lasers pieced together an impressive comeback to end the match.

Inside the Box Score (Juniata)

• Elmira finished the match with a .235 hitting percentage, while Juniata amassed a .346 hitting clip to outpace the Soaring Eagles.
• Juniata finished with more digs, 30-to-19.
• EC held a slight edge in total blocks, recording five to Juniata's four.
• Ryan McDonough '18 led Elmira's attack with nine kills.
• Buffum had seven kills and an admirable .462 hitting percentage.
• Ryan Branigan '19 registered a team-leading five digs for the Soaring Eagles.
• Straney had a match-high three blocks.
• Jeremy Best '19 assisted on 20 of Elmira's 23 kills.
• Juniata's Quinn Peterson led all hitters with 14 kills, and Chris Heron paced all players with 11 digs.
• Mahlon Bender finished with a team-leading .636 attack percentage for the Eagles with seven kills and no errors.
• Michael Young had 37 assists and four aces, both match highs.

Inside the Box Score (Lasell)

• Although Elmira hit at a rate above .300 in the second and third sets, the team finished with a mark of .224.
• Lasell had 40 kills and just 10 attack errors, resulting in a .370 clip.
• EC finished with more digs, 26-to-21, and more blocks, 3-to-1.
• Lasell held a large advantage over Elmira in aces, 11-to-2.
• Kawecki paced all hitters in the match with 11 kills, while recording a team-high attack percentage of .471. ­
• Buffum and McDonough both recorded seven kills for the Soaring Eagles.
• Best assisted on all but one Elmira kills, as he posted 28 in the match.
• McDonough led EC in digs with seven.
• Patrick MacDonald led Lasell in kills (10), while recording only one error to finish with a hitting percentage of .563.
• Both Jeffrey Vautrin and Tristan Davis had nine kills.
• Andy Henriquez assisted on 34 of Lasell's 40 attacks.
• Jordan Aprea's eight digs were a match best.

News and Notes

• Elmira falls to 1-3 on the season and 1-1 against nationally-ranked teams.
• Kawecki recorded season highs against Lasell in attack percentage (.471) and digs (6), while posting his second match of the year with double-digit kills.
• Kawecki's .471 attack percentage is his best since February 25, 2015, when he picked up 15 kills with only three errors for a .571 rate against Nazareth College.
• Best has finished with no fewer than 20 assists in each match this season.
• McDonough has tossed at least one ace in all four matches this the season.
• With two total blocks against the Lasers, Buffum picked up multiple blocks for the third time this year.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will look to avenge their season-opening loss to Marymount University on Friday, January 27th, when the Elmira men will face the Saints and Marian University (Wisc.) in a non-league tri-match in Arlington, Virginia. EC will open the evening against the Sabres of Marian at 6:00 p.m. before battling the hosts at 8:00 p.m.