ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's volleyball spent four consecutive weekends on the road, totaling 10 matches during that time, but all that comes to end this Friday, February 10th, when the Soaring Eagles host the EC Invitational. Elmira opens the two-day invite on Friday against Southern Vermont at Speidel Gymnasium at 4:00 p.m. and will end the day with an 8:00 p.m. clash with D'Youville College.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Elmira suffered a heartbreaking five-set loss in its last match to Johnson & Wales (25-13, 24-26, 29-27, 25-23, 20-18). Three of the five sets went into extra points, two of which were won by Elmira in the second and third sets. EC dug itself an early hole in the fifth set, as the Wildcats jumped out to a 4-0 lead that eventually turned into an 11-7 advantage. The Soaring Eagles pieced together a 6-2 run to level the set at 13-all. Elmira fought off four match points, and had one of its own that it could not convert on, before the Wildcats eked out a tight 20-18 fifth set for a 3-2 victory. Three Soaring Eagles logged double-digit kills, led by Ryan McDonough '18 and his match-high 17 kills. Mark Kawecki '17 floored 15 kills, while Matthew Buffum '18 produced 14.
 
CAREER HIGH FOR BUFFUM: Chesterfield, Missouri, native Matthew Buffum '18 had a solid weekend at the Golden Flyer Invitational a week ago, hosted by Nazareth College in Rochester, New York. The junior middle hitter produced a career-high 14 kills in a five-set setback against Johnson & Wales and also tied his season-high block total with six rejections in EC's match against second-ranked, and defending national champion, SUNY New Paltz.
 
THE COMPETITION: The Soaring Eagles will face four teams during this weekend's home invitational. Below is a quick breakdown of the opponents EC will face.

Southern Vermont (0-2): The Mountaineers dropped both of their matches to open the 2017 season, falling to Bard and SUNY Poly in straight sets. Elmer Olivares is the team's most consistent source of offense, as the junior outside hitter sports a team-leading 2.17 kills per set average (13k-93-28ta). Olivares is the only player on Southern Vermont with double-digit kills and with a kills per set average of 1.00 or higher.
 
D'Youville (2-0): The Spartans are off to a solid start at 2-0, although both wins came against Hilbert College. D'Youville topped the Hawks in straight sets on their home hardwood, before pulling out a tight five-setter in Hamburg, New York. Zach Bochacki and Pat Stroh pace the Spartans with 2.25 and 2.13 kills per set averages, respectively. Bochacki has been the more consistent hitter of the two, as he heads into this weekend's invite with a team-leading .378 attack percentage.
 
Sage (5-3): Sage, who will become full-time members of the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) next year, is playing some solid volleyball as of late. The Gators are 5-3 on the season and 4-1 in their last five matches, including the team's most recent four-set victory over New Jersey City. Ryan Guyton has been a key target for the team's starting setter, Casey Fitzpatrick, as the junior outside hitter boasts a team-leading 99 kills and a 4.13 kills per set average, which ranks fifth in the country.
 
#15 Lasell (10-1): Lasell is off to a fantastic start to the 2017 campaign with a 10-1 record, which has vaulted the Lasers into the AVCA national poll at No. 15. The Lasers opened the season with nine straight wins, before falling in four sets to Ramapo. Lasell has spread out the attack, as five players have a kills per set average of 2.00 or higher. Jeffrey Vautrin leads the group at 3.37 kills per set and is connecting at a 25.7-percent clip. Orchestrating the attack has been Andy Henriquez, who has 339 assists on the year and is averaging 10.27 assists per set, a mark that ranks eighth in the nation.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Elmira continues its stretch of home matches the following weekend, as the Purple and Gold open UVC play on Saturday, February 18th, against third-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology and eighth-ranked Vassar College. The Soaring Eagles battle the Ducks of Stevens at 11:00 a.m., before concluding the day with a 4:00 p.m. clash with the Brewers of Vassar.