Score: Rutgers-Newark 3 – Elmira College 2 (20-25, 25-27, 25-12, 25-23, 16-14)
Score: Elmira College 3 – Ramapo College 2 (25-21, 20-25, 28-30, 25-22, 15-5)
Records: Elmira (1-2), Rutgers-Newark (1-0), Ramapo (0-2)
Location: The Golden Dome – Newark, N.J.
 
NEWARK, N.J. -- The Elmira College men's volleyball team earned its first victory of the 2018 campaign by splitting two five-set matches at the Golden Dome Invitational on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey. The Soaring Eagles opened the day with a crushing 3-2 loss to the host Rutgers-Newark, before topping Ramapo in the finale, 3-2.

The Soaring Eagles were led in the opening match by a historic performance from Matthew Buffum '18, as he floored a single-match program record 10 blocks. Ryan McDonough '19 was also fantastic with 19 kills, while hitting at a team-high .318 clip. Dan Symer '19 ended the bout with his first collegiate double-double (15k-12d). Colin Morrison '19 tallied a career-high 19 digs against the Scarlet Raiders. In terms of assists, Jeremy Best '19 handed out a match-high 44.

After a tightly-contested opening, the first set began to swing in EC's favor when the score sat at 19-18 in Elmira's favor. From that point, the Soaring Eagles went on a 6-2 run to seal the victory, 25-20. Symer was the Purple and Gold's star of the first, as he finished with a team-high eight kills, two of which came in Elmira's final six points.

The second set started off just like the first, as both teams traded points for much of the open. Trailing 17-14 late in the second, EC began to rally, going on a 3-0 run to knot the score at 17-all. From that point, the teams started to trade points until the score sat deadlocked at 25-25. Fortunately for the Soaring Eagles, two-straight errors by the Scarlet Raiders gave them the much-needed 27-25 set win.

Unfortunately for the Purple and Gold, the result of today's opening match was very similar to yesterday's finish, as Rutgers-Newark went on to win both the third (25-12) and fourth (25-23) sets to force a fifth. Soaring Eagles jumped ahead early, taking a 5-2 lead after the first seven points. They built off this momentum to take a 14-12 lead, just one point away from winning the match. This would be the last point that EC would score, however, as a 4-0 run by Rutgers-Newark sealed a 3-2 for the Scarlet Raiders.

In the second match against the Roadrunners, the Purple and Gold were paced by rookie Jose Malave '21, who recorded his second collegiate double-double with a match-high-tying 14 kills and 12 digs. Malave was also very efficient when attacking, as he hit at a .310 clip. Symer also posted a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. Best was responsible for 36 of EC's 46 assists against Ramapo.

The second match of the day started with a 25-21 set win for the Soaring Eagles. The set started to sway EC's way with the score tied 18-all, as the Purple and Gold went on a 4-0 run to go ahead 22-18. Elmira would hold onto this lead for the remainder of the opening set.

Unlike the first match, however, the Soaring Eagles found themselves down 2-1 after the Roadrunners won both the second and third sets. The second finished with a 25-20 final score, while the third was a hard-fought 30-28 win for Ramapo.

This meant that for the first time this season, Elmira had to orchestrate a comeback to earn the victory. The rally started with a 25-22 victory in the fourth. After trading points for the first 40 points of the set, EC and Ramapo were tied at 20-all. The Purple and Gold were ready for this challenge, as they went on a 4-0 run to secure the win for Elmira.

For the third consecutive time this season, EC was headed to a fifth-and-final set. Unlike the other two fifth sets that Elmira has played this year, the Soaring Eagles dominated in this one. With the score knotted at 4-4, EC tallied 11 of the final 12 points to win the set 15-5 and the match 3-2.

In Their Own Words...
Head Coach Daniel Miranda shares his thoughts about how the team handled today's two five-set matches…
"We had another up and down day. As far as overall play, we, fortunately, have a lot to build off of. There is a lot of work ahead of us in order to get up to where we want to be. This weekend was a real eye-opener for us to put into perspective where our focus needs to lie in practice. The potential to compete at a higher level is there, it will be up to us to make sure we can execute for complete matches."
 
News and Notes

• By splitting its two bouts at the Golden Dome Invitational, Elmira is now 1-2 on the season.
• All three of EC's matches this year have gone to five sets.
• The Soaring Eagles' 13 blocks against Rutgers-Newark are a season high for the team.
• The Scarlet Raiders' .164 hitting percentage is a season high for a Purple and Gold opponent.
• Elmira also posted season highs in digs (65) and assists (55) against Rutgers-Newark.
• Buffum recorded a new single-match program record with 10 blocks against the Scarlet Raiders.
• With 11 kills and 10 blocks, Buffum posted his first double-double of the season.
• Symer posted a double-double in both matches today, the first two of his career, with 15 kills and 12 digs versus Rutgers-Newark and 12 kills and 11 digs against the Roadrunners.
• With 14 kills and 12 digs, Malave now has two double-doubles this season.
• Best tallied his first double-double of the year with 44 assists and 11 digs against the Scarlet Knights.
• Morrison cracked double-digit digs in both matches today, with his 19 against Rutgers-Newark standing as a new career high.

 
Up Next
EC will look to build off today's win at its four matches at the Elmira College Invitational Friday and Saturday, January 26-27, at Speidel Gymnasium. The Soaring Eagles will open the event with a 6:00 p.m. battle against Keuka College.