Score: Elmira College 3 – Baruch College 2 [25-23, 25-19, 16-25, 13-25, 15-13]
Records: Elmira (10-17), Baruch (7-13)
Location: Spediel Gymnasium – Elmira, N.Y.
 
ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's volleyball team looks to be hitting its stride at just the right time, as the Soaring Eagles pulled out a thrilling five-set victory over visiting Baruch College this afternoon to extend EC's win streak to three matches.
 
Elmira eked out a tight first set, 25-23, behind the efforts of Ryan McDonough '18 and Matthew Buffum '18, who combined for nine of the team's 12 kills. The two classmates combined for a .538 attack percentage (9k-2e-13ta), which bolstered EC's .310 attack percentage in the opening set.
 
Consistent hitting was a theme early on for the Soaring Eagles, who connected at a .382-percent clip in the second set to power past the Bearcats, 25-19. Although it was the largest margin of victory of any set won by EC this afternoon, it did not come as easy as it looked. Elmira trailed early in the set, 9-6, but a 5-0 run fueled by kills from Buffum and Dan Symer '19 leveled the set at 10-10. That run was the first of two major streaks by Elmira, as the Purple and Gold outscored Baruch 9-to-1 late in the set to take a 24-16 lead, all but sealing the set and a 2-sets-to-0 lead.
 
EC looked to ride the momentum from its two opening set wins into the third, but the visitors would not go away quietly. Leading 15-13, Baruch went on to win 10 of the final 13 points to clinch the set and cut the Soaring Eagle lead to 2-sets-to-1.
 
Baruch's strong performance continued in the fourth, as the Bearcats raced to a 25-13 win to level the match a two sets apiece. The key for Baruch in those two sets was the team's consistent hitting, as the visitors logged .421 and .480 attack percentages in the third and fourth sets, respectively. Credit the efforts of Stephen Roach and Samuel Rabidoux, who combined for a .480 attack percentage (15k-3-25ta) and four blocks.
 
With all the momentum all in Baruch's favor, EC needed to make a statement early in the fifth set and did so by winning five of the first seven points to quiet the animated Bearcat bench. EC clung to its three-point lead for most of the set, until Baruch clawed its way back to tie the set at 12-12, forcing an Elmira timeout.
 
Elmira's defense was on full display following the 60-second break, as the Soaring Eagles produced blocks on back-to-back points to take a 14-12 lead. Buffum teamed up with Symer for the first block, before Mark Kawecki '17 got into the mix with Buffum on the second rejection.  
 
Following a Baruch timeout, Roach came up with a big solo block for the Bearcats to keep the set, and match, within reach at 14-13. However, Kawecki pummeled one of his four fifth-set kills on the ensuing point by splitting a pair of Bearcat blockers to find the open space in the middle of the floor to hand the Soaring Eagles an uplifting five-set victory.
 
In His Own Words…
Head Coach Daniel Miranda on securing the victory over Baruch in the fifth set…
"It was an all-around great finish for them. They hung in there, stayed solid offensively, and really were able to side out on each point when they were serving tough. It really came down to blocking at the end and solid play from both middles to finish out the match."
 
Coach Miranda discussing how Baruch was able to overcome a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set…
"Baruch started targeting a couple of our passers that just weren't ready to go, and our communication kind of lapsed. Overall, guys got comfortable and complacent, and we have to make sure we don't let up going forward."
 
Coach Miranda recalling what he told the team when he called a timeout with the fifth set tied 12-12…
"Ultimately, just stay solid on the blocks. We started the match blocking extremely well, pressing over, and they were consistently swinging into our block. Then we got a little undisciplined as far as closing and pressing over the net. But when it came down to it, we pressed over and were able to finish out the way we started."
 
Coach Miranda on the momentum EC has gained with a three-game win streak heading into the final stretch of UVC play…
"I think it's a great way to prepare us mentally for the conference matches. This Tuesday is a crucial match. If we don't take it, we're out of our playoff hopes. It's good to see us start to head in the right direction towards the end of the season."
 
Inside the Box Score

• Elmira was outhit in terms of attack percentage, .252-to-.235.
• EC hit .310 and .382 in the first two sets, respectively, but failed to record a percentage above .200 in the final three sets.
• Baruch's offense was red-hot in the middle sets, hitting .421 and .480 in the third and fourth, respectively.
• The Soaring Eagles had more aces, 5-to-4, but the Bearcats finished with more total blocks, 13-to-8.
• Baruch held a 56-to-41 advantage in digs.
• McDonough paced the Purple and Gold with 19 kills and nine digs, and was tied for the team lead with two aces.
• Buffum registered a team-leading .400 attack percentage on a 16k-4e-30ta line.
• Buffum's seven total blocks are a game-high.
• Kawecki also had double-digit kills for EC with 15.
• Ryan Branigan '19 was second on the team with eight digs.
• Jeremy Best '19 assisted on 56 of Elmira's 64 kills.
• Roach and Rabidoux each had 14 kills to lead the Bearcat offense.
• Baruch's Nicholas Godino had a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs.
• Kryiakos Semertzidis picked up a game-high 15 digs.

 
News and Notes

• Elmira is now 10-17 on the season and 4-4 inside Speidel Gymnasium.
• EC has won three consecutive matches, all against non-conference teams.
• The five-set victory is the third of the season for the Soaring Eagles.
• The Soaring Eagles evened the all-time series against Baruch at 4-4.
• Buffum's 16 kills upped his career total to 485, good for sixth place all-time in EC history.
• Buffum has ended 10 matches with double-digit kills this season.
• McDonough's 19 kills are just two shy of his season high.
• McDonough has floored double-digit kills 15 times this season.
• Kawecki also became the fourth player in EC history to eclipse 600 career kills.
• Kawecki tied his previous season high with 15 kills, his eight match of the year with double-digit kills.

 
Up Next
EC is back on the court next Tuesday, March 21, when the Soaring Eagles host the Lions of Penn State Behrend. The United Volleyball Conference (UVC) matchup is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. inside Elmira's Speidel Gymnasium.