Score: No. 12 Mount St. Joseph University 3, No. 13 Elmira College 1 (25-22, 25-17, 23-25, 25-18)
Score: No. 13 Elmira College 3, Hiram College 2 (23-25, 16-25, 25-14, 26-24, 16-14)
Records: Elmira (13-5), Mount St. Joseph (10-3), Hiram (3-12)
Location: Hiram, Ohio -- Price Gymnasium
 
HIRAM, Ohio -- The No. 13-ranked Elmira College men's volleyball team split its pair of matches at the Hiram College Invitational today at the Price Gymnasium in Hiram, Ohio. The Soaring Eagles opened the day with a 3-1 loss to No. 12-ranked Mount St. Joseph, before pulling off an exciting 3-2 comeback victory over Hiram in the finale.

The difference in today's opening match came down to the Lions' impressive .374 hitting percentage. EC, on the other hand, hit at a solid .177 clip. Mount St. Joseph also played stellar defense, as it owned leads over the Soaring Eagles in both blocks (12-to-4) and digs (44-to-31). Elmira's lone advantage in the match was its two service aces, compared to the Lions' zero.

Matthew Buffum '18 led the way for the Purple and Gold with team highs with 12 kills and a .417 attack percentage. Dan Symer '19 also tallied double-digit kills with 10 to go along with six digs. Jose Malave '21 came close to a double-double with nine kills and eight digs. Jeremy Best '19 performed well as the team's setter, as he assisted on 38 of EC's 44 kills.

In the opening set, the Soaring Eagles went ahead 3-0 to start the match. EC held on to this early advantage for a good portion of the first, as the Lions earned their first tie with the score at 15-all. It was at this point that Mount St. Joseph settled in by taking seven of the next 10 points to go ahead 22-18. This lead would hold for the remainder of the set, as the Lions took a 25-22 victory.

After taking a convincing 25-17 triumph in the second set, the Lions looked to seal the victory in the third. Mount St. Joseph secured an early 6-3 lead, which was facilitated by a 4-0 push early in the frame. Elmira battled back to knot the score at 10-10 with a 3-0 run of its own. After some back-and-forth play, a Symer kill tied the score at 21 apiece. Following two straight points by the Lions, EC took control and won the set, 25-23, by taking the final four points. Best was poised at the service line for Elmira in the run, while two kills by Symer bookended the 4-0 push.  

With one set under their belts, the Soaring Eagles looked to continue their improved play in the fourth frame. It was close for a good portion of the set, as the score was tied at 15-15 late in the frame. With the score knotted, a few attack errors by EC allowed the Lions to jump ahead 18-15 with a 3-0 run. A 4-0 push later in the set gave Mount St. Joseph a six-point advantage, 23-17. This lead would hold up for the remainder of the frame, as the Lions held on to take a 25-18 set win to seal the match, 3-1.

In the second bout of the day against Hiram, the Soaring Eagles started off slowly but righted the ship offensively in the final three sets to pull off a comeback win. After being held to sub-.050 hitting percentages in the two opening frames, EC posted .370, .148 and .211 clips to close out the match. Despite this turnaround, the Terriers still outhit Elmira with its .210 attack percentage for the bout, compared to EC's .145 clip.

Malave was at the forefront of the Purple and Gold's success, as he posted a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs. Symer (11k-8d) and Ryan McDonough '19 (10k-7d) were also close to double-doubles with solid outings. Buffum and Landon Miller '20 were both fantastic defensively with a team-high-tying seven blocks apiece. With his second consecutive strong performance of the day, Best finished the tilt against Hiram with a match-high 48 assists.

After dropping the first two sets by 25-23 and 25-16 final scores, the Soaring Eagles started their comeback attempt in the third set. EC began the frame by scoring eight of the first 11 points to storm ahead 8-3. Best capped off the EC run with a service ace. Elmira further expanded its advantage to 16-9 with a 4-1 surge later in the set. A 4-0 run at the end of the third sealed a 25-14 victory for the Purple and Gold.

In the fourth, Elmira went ahead early, 3-1, to start the frame behind a pair of kills from Malave. A 3-0 run later in the set expanded the Purple and Gold's advantage to four points, 11-7. After some back-and-forth play for the next few points, the Terriers had cut the deficit to one, 17-16. This prompted the Soaring Eagles to go on a 5-0 push to storm ahead 22-16. A 6-0 surge by Hiram knotted the score at 22-all late in the set. Elmira held its composure, however, as it sealed a 26-24 victory in the frame by taking four of the last six points, which forced a decisive fifth set.

The Purple and Gold came out firing in the fifth set, as they took a 7-3 lead after the first 10 points to prompt the Terriers to take a timeout. This was answered by a furious run by Mount St. Joseph, who went on a 7-3 surge of its own to tie the score at 10-10. After trading points for the next few minutes, the score was knotted at 12 apiece. A 2-0 run by EC was answered by two straight points for the Terriers, resulting in a 14-14 score. With the score tied, Elmira retook the lead with a Symer kill, before taking the set and the match with an attack error by Hiram.
 
In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Daniel Miranda shares his thoughts on today's split…
"Mount St. Joseph outplayed us and Hiram outhustled us today. The team needs to be more disciplined all around. We have been riding a high from some of our well-deserved victories, but we still have a lot to work on. We are not where we need to be and we need to be better if we want to make a run in the United Volleyball Conference (UVC). We are happy to end the trip with a win against a hard-working team, but we are more aware now than ever that we have a lot of work to do."
 
News and Notes

• With the split today, Elmira is now 13-5 overall on the season.
• After losing its first two five-set matches, EC has won six consecutive and are 6-2 in those bouts this season.
• With the win over Hiram, the Soaring Eagles are 2-3 in true road bouts this year.
• Elmira is 2-2 against nationally-ranked foes in 2018, with both losses coming against Mount St. Joseph.
• The setback against the Lions snapped a five-match win streak for EC.
• The Purple and Gold's attacking percentages against Mount St. Joseph (.177) and Hiram (.145) are the team's two lowest clips of the season.
• Elmira posted a season-high 22 block assists against the Terriers.
• With 14 kills and 11 digs against Hiram, Malave has now posted four double-doubles this season.
• Miller tied a season-high with seven blocks against the Terriers.
• Best's 48 assists against Hiram is his third-highest total of the year.
• Buffum extended his streak of hitting above .400 to five straight matches by doing so twice today.

 
Up Next
The Soaring Eagles continue non-conference play at the Nazareth College Invitational on Saturday, March 3. Elmira will challenge D'Youville College at 12:00 p.m., before taking on Medaille College at 2:00 p.m. at the Kidera Gymnasium.