Score: Elmira College 3, Penn State Altoona 0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-22)
Score: Marian University 3, Elmira College 0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-23)
Records: Elmira (7-4), Marian (4-4), Penn State Altoona (6-8)
Location: Springfield, Ohio -- Pam Evans Smith Arena

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- The Elmira College men's volleyball team concluded its weekend road trip in Ohio with a split on Saturday, as the Soaring Eagles defeated Penn State Altoona in straight sets and were beaten 3-0 by Marian University at Wittenberg University's 2018 Power Weekend tournament.

Against Penn State Altoona, the Purple and Gold saved the set point in the second set with a kill from Landon Miller '20, which evened the score at 24-24. Miller then teamed up with Ryan McDonough '19 for a block, and the Lions dropped the set with an attack error. Already up 2-0 in the match, EC went on to secure a tight 25-22 decision in the third set en route to the 3-0 sweep.

Elmira finished with significant advantages in both aces (8-to-2) and total blocks (10-to-4) against the Lions. Miller and fellow middle blocker Matthew Buffum '18 led the Soaring Eagles in kills with eight and 14, respectively, in addition to a combined 10 total blocks.

In the afternoon match against Marian, EC was edged by identical 25-23 scores in the second and third sets, which allowed the Sabres to pick up a non-conference victory in straight sets. The Soaring Eagles posted a team-best .357 hitting percentage in the middle set (17k-2e-42ta), only to be outdone by Marian, who hit at a .476 rate (22k-2e-42ta) in the stanza.

Buffum (10), Dan Symer '19 (9) and McDonough (9) led the team in kills in the nightcap, while McDonough also posted a team-high 14 digs. Marian's Jon Smallpage led all players with 17 kills in the match.

News and Notes

• Elmira's 2018 record stands at 7-4 after splitting both pairs of matches on Friday and Saturday.
• The win over Penn State Altoona was EC's third straight-set victory of the year.
• The Soaring Eagles recorded double-digit blocks for just the third time this season with 10 against the Lions.
• Buffum has produced double-digit kills in seven of EC's 11 matches.
• Buffum extended his team lead in blocks to 48 so far this season.
• McDonough's 14 digs against the Sabres are a season-best.
• Miller's six blocks against Penn State Altoona are a season-high.

Up Next
Elmira will visit the Golden Flyers of Nazareth College for a non-league match on Wednesday, February 7, at 7:00 p.m. in Rochester, New York.