Score: Nazareth College 3 – Elmira College 1
Score: Elmira College 3 – SUNY Poly 2
Records: Elmira (11-21), Nazareth (21-12), SUNY Poly (16-16)
Location: Speidel Gymnasium – Elmira, N.Y.
 
ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The 2017 season came to a close today for the Elmira College men's volleyball team, as the Soaring Eagles split their final two matches of the year. Elmira dropped a hard-fought four-set bout to Nazareth College [25-21, 25-23, 25-27, 25-17] in the first match of the day and capped the season with a thrilling five-set victory over SUNY Poly [25-12, 25-19, 19-25, 22-25, 15-9] in the night cap.
 
Nazareth controlled the opening set of today's first match with precision swings, as the Golden Flyers connected at a .483-percent clip en route to a 25-21 victory. Elmira held a four-point lead in the early stages of the second set, but Nazareth would rally midway through the second stanza and rattle off four consecutive points to go up 19-16. EC closed the gap to just one point late in the set, 24-23, but a kill from Zachary Gillard gave the Golden Flyers a 2-sets-to-0 lead.
 
The tough second-set loss did not derail Elmira focus, and instead ignited one of the finest hitting performances of the year by the Soaring Eagles in the third set. Elmira went 18k-2e-27ta in the third frame for an attack percentage of .593, which paved the way for a 27-25 win.
 
Although Elmira pulled out the third set, it did not come easy. Neither team led by more than two points at any point in the set, and the Soaring Eagles even trailed, 23-21, later in the frame. However, the Purple and Gold went on to win six of the final eight points to secure the set.
 
Unfortunately, Nazareth would shake off the third-set defeat and secure their 20th win of the season with a 25-17 win in the fourth set.
 
In today's season finale against SUNY Poly, Elmira flexed its muscle with a dominant opening-set win, 25-12. The Wildcats led early in the set, 4-3, but a 10-point run by EC gave the Soaring Eagles a 13-4 advantage. Fueling the run was the powerful serving of senior Mark Kawecki '17, who was at the service line for nine of EC's 10 consecutive points. Kawecki's booming trademark serve was the difference in the run, as he produced three of his career-high six service aces.
 
The second set also featured a key run by the Soaring Eagles, and believe it or not, Kawecki was once again on the service line for most it. With the match knotted at 15-15, Elmira rattled off five consecutive points starting with a pulverizing kill by Matthew Buffum '18, one of 13 kills for the junior middle hitter. Following the Buffum kill, Kawecki lit up the SUNY Poly defense with back-to-back aces, which was followed by a kill from Ryan McDonough '18 and an attack error from Steven Jacobsen.
 
Elmira's five-point cushion proved to be more than enough, as the Purple and Gold marched away with a 25-19 second-set victory.
 
SUNY Poly prevailed in the third set, 25-19, thanks to their best hitting performance of the afternoon. The Wildcats connected on .407-percent of their attempts in the third frame to extend the match.
 
Elmira jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fourth set, two of those points coming on a pair of aces from McDonough. The Soaring Eagles built their lead to 19-16, which forced a SUNY Poly timeout. Following the 60-second break, the Wildcats closed out the set on a 9-3 run to steal the fourth set away from EC, 25-22, and force a fifth set.  
 
In the fifth, EC held a slim 4-3 lead but would break the set wide open with a 4-0 run t Buffum logged a kill and a block during that stretch, while Dan Symer '19 tossed in an ace to put EC ahead, 8-3. The five-point advantage proved to be the difference down the stretch, as the Wildcats were unable to close the gap, resulting in a 15-9 win for EC.
 
In His Own Words…
Head Coach Daniel Miranda shares his thoughts on EC's play this afternoon…
"I thought they played the way we've known they could play all year. They fought hard and played offensively extremely strong, siding out better than they have all year. It was a solid finish to the season."
 
Coach Miranda talks about Elmira's serving being the difference in today's win…
"One thing that I think made the difference was the change of pace in our aggressiveness in serving. Towards the beginning of the year, whenever the match got close, we played it safe. The last few weeks we have made more of a focus to just be more specific and aggressive on our serves and the guys handled it extremely well. Mark went on a phenomenal run for us, racking up a lot of aces. McDonough served really tough too."
 
Coach Miranda shares his thoughts on Kawecki's efforts…
"Everything Mark has accomplished can be credited to his work ethic. He's a phenomenal athlete, a great teammate, and a true leader. The team didn't respond to anyone as much as they responded to Mark. When he's on, the team's on, plain and simple. He's a guy that everyone wants to be around, on-and-off the court. He's been a true team player."
 
Inside the Box Score (Nazareth)

• Nazareth hit at a .352-percent clip, while EC was .292 from the floor.
• Nazareth finished with 45 digs and Elmira logged 35.
• Total blocks finished in favor of the Soaring Eagles, 8.0-to-4.0.
• The Golden Flyers served up five aces and Elmira totaled two.
• Kawecki logged a match-high 21 kills and was the only Soaring Eagle with double-digits.
• Kawecki also registered one aces, three blocks and a trio of digs.
• McDonough produced nine kills and eight digs.
• Symer turned in an eight-kill and one-block performance.
• Buffum finished with a match-high seven blocks, two of which were solos.
• Jeremy Best '19 amassed 44 assists and six digs.
• Ryan Branigan '19 finished with the team lead in digs with 14.

 
Inside the Box Score (SUNY Poly)

• Elmira held the advantage in attack percentage, .259-percent compared to SUNY Poly's .176.
• The two teams tied with 12 service aces each.
• Digs were also even between the two squads, as each finished with 39.
• SUNY Poly finished with 8.0 total blocks, while Elmira recorded 7.0.
• EC assisted on 46-of-52 kills and SUNY Poly registered 38 assists on its 41 kills.
• McDonough filled the stat sheet with a match-high 14 kills, eight digs, four aces, and one block.
• Buffum was close behind with 13 kills, a match-high seven blocks, six digs, and one ace.
• Kawecki logged 11 kills in the final match of his collegiate career.
• Kawecki also produced a career-high six service aces, two blocks, and tied for the team lead in digs with eight.
• Best registered 42 assists, three blocks, and four digs.
• Branigan finished with seven digs.

 
News and Notes

• Today's match marks the end of the 2017 season for the Elmira men.
• The Soaring Eagles' 12 aces against SUNY Poly are tied for the second-most this season.
• Kawecki's six service aces were a career high.
• Kawecki's 21 kills were two shy of his career-high mark (22).
• McDonough was one ace shy of tying his season-high mark of five.
• Best finished two assists shy of reaching 1,000 single-season assists.
• Buffum matched his season-high block total (7).
• Buffum moved up to fourth all-time in career blocks (214).
• Kawecki finished his collegiate career fourth all-time in kills (676), fifth in aces (92), sixth in digs (374) and 10th in blocks (93).