ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The No.13 Elmira College men's volleyball is preparing for a pair of matches at the Hiram College Invitational, hosted by the Terriers inside Price Gymnasium in Hiram, Ohio. The Soaring Eagles will kick-off the weekend with a rematch against 12th-ranked Mount St. Joseph at 10:00 a.m., followed by a 12:00 p.m. contest against the host Terriers.
LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles earned two wins in a United Volleyball Conference (UVC) tri-match on Saturday, February 17, and Sunday, February 18. EC opened the weekend with a thrilling 3-2 triumph over No. 14 SUNY New Paltz, the runner-up from last year's NCAA Division III Championship. The following day, Purple and Gold swept Sage in straight sets to improve to 3-0 in conference play, the team's best start to the UVC slate since 2012. Middle blockers
Matthew Buffum '18 and
Landon Miller '20 were among EC's standout performers, as Buffum logged 17 kills and 11 blocks and Miller floored 20 kills with eight blocks.
WEEKLY AWARDS
For the first time since April of 2012, the Elmira men's volleyball team swept both UVC weekly awards. Buffum, a 6-foot-7-inch senior middle, was crowned the Player of the Week after leading the Soaring Eagles with 11 blocks and ranking second on the team in both kills (17) and attack percentage (.517). Miller received the UVC Rookie of the Week award, this after posting team highs with 20 kills and a .621 attack percentage in the two matches against SUNY New Paltz and Sage. In addition, both players received identical weekly accolades from the Empire 8 Conference.
SCOUTING MOUNT ST. JOSEPH
The Lions (8-3) earned a 3-0 win over the Soaring Eagles in their first meeting of the season back on February 2. That win was the beginning of a season-best four-match win streak for Mount St. Joseph, which has since topped Marian (Wis.), Loras and Augustana (Ill.) by the same score. In their last win over the Vikings on February 17, the Lions compiled a season-high .424 team attack percentage, led by senior middle blocker Andrew Chisholm at .778 (7k-0e-9ta). Chisholm leads Mount St. Joseph with a .362 attack percentage and 38 total blocks. However, it's rookie Jason Hascher who continues to lead the Lions' offense with 111 kills and 3.08 kills per set.
SCOUTING HIRAM
Saturday's match will mark the first of two against the Terriers on the 2018 schedule. The first-year program, led by former Elmira assistant coach Kyle Mars, started off its inaugural season with three consecutive wins over Neumann, St. Elizabeth and Misericordia, but since then, Hiram has dropped 10 straight matches. On a roster that features 13 freshmen, rookie right side Alex Andrzejewski leads the team with 101 kills and a 2.52 kills-per-set average. Freshman outside hitter Cory Fischer has amassed 91 kills and a team-high 69 digs, including a season-high 10 digs last time out against Penn State Altoona on February 18.
LOOKING AHEAD
No. 13 Elmira will travel to Rochester, New York, for two matches at the Nazareth College Invitational on Saturday, March 3. At 12:00 p.m., the Soaring Eagles will take on the Spartans of D'Youville College, and at 2:00 p.m. they'll face the Mavericks of Medaille College.
