Score: Elmira College 3, Nazareth College 2 (21-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-22, 15-9)
Records: Elmira (8-4), Nazareth (6-4)
Location: Rochester, N.Y. -- Kidera Gymnasium

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's volleyball team overcame a two-sets-to-one deficit on the road on a snowy Wednesday night in Rochester, New York, to defeat the Golden Flyers of Nazareth College in five sets in a non-conference match.

After the Soaring Eagles edged Naz, 25-23, to claim the second set, the Golden Flyers regained the lead in the match with a strong finish in the third set. Already up 18-16, Nazareth won seven of the final eight points to cruise to a 25-17 win.

The two sides then traded runs early in the fourth set. Elmira, which received votes in this week's edition of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-15 Poll, secured five unanswered points, including back-to-back kills from Dan Symer '19, to pull ahead 7-3 before Naz could side out. However, the Golden Flyers responded by winning five straight points to reclaim a narrow 8-7 advantage in the set. The feathered foes traded points until they found themselves deadlocked at 18-all, at which point EC was able to swing momentum in its favor with four consecutive points. Two of those points came off of combo blocks by Symer and Landon Miller '20. Service errors by the hosts gave EC its 24th and 25th points of the set and even the match at 2-2.

Symer floored two additional kills early in the fifth set, the latter which allowed the Soaring Eagles to double-up Nazareth at 6-3. The Golden Flyers wouldn't go down with a fight, as they managed to tie things up at 7-all, but it wouldn't be enough. A 3-0 run was sparked by a pair of Jose Malave '21 kills, and although Nazareth sided out and came within one point of the lead at 10-9, EC ended the match with five consecutive points en route to the win. After a Matthew Buffum '18 block and kill, the Purple and Gold were awarded the match point on a Nazareth red card.

Ryan McDonough '19 and Symer paced the Soaring Eagles with 15 and 14 kills, respectively, while the former also led all players with four aces. Buffum added eight kills and a team-leading six total blocks, while Jeremy Best '19 dished out 44 assists with five blocks and four kills.

In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Daniel Miranda on the mid-week win over United Volleyball Conference (UVC) rival Nazareth in an early-season match that had no conference implications…
"That's a huge win for us. It sets the expectations for the conference matches. Our all-around defense really stepped up in a major way, and the team kept its composure when it mattered most. We've had some battles this year already, and that experience brought us home a win tonight."

Coach Miranda on Ryan McDonough's effort on the court against the Golden Flyers…
"I can't speak highly enough about McDonough's performance and leadership on the court."

News and Notes

• Elmira improved to 8-4 overall so far in 2018.
• EC is 4-2 in five-set matches this season and has won its last three five-setters.
• The victory over Nazareth is just the third in the all-time series between the two teams and the first for Elmira since February of 2015.
• The win also marked the first for the Soaring Eagles on the road versus the Golden Flyers.
• The Soaring Eagles produced double-digit blocks for the fourth time this season and are 3-1 when doing so.
• McDonough has logged double-digit kills on four occasions this season.
• McDonough (608) joined teammate Buffum (642) as one of only six players to eclipse 600 career kills as a Soaring Eagle.
• Symer's 14 kills mark his sixth match of the year with double-figures.
• With six blocks against Naz, Buffum extended his team lead in the category to 54, the most in the UVC.

Up Next
Elmira returns home to host a tri-match on Sunday, February 11, beginning with the 2018 UVC opener against Bard College at 11:00 a.m. at Speidel Gymnasium. In the nightcap, the Soaring Eagles will take on Misericordia University at 4:00 p.m.