Score: No. 2 Stevens Institute of Technology 3, No. 15 Elmira College 1 (25-13, 23-25, 25-19, 25-14)
Records: Stevens (16-3, 5-0 UVC), Elmira (15-7, 3-2 UVC)
Location: New York, N.Y. -- Brooklyn Athletic Facility
 
NEW YORK -- The No. 15-ranked Elmira College men's volleyball team concluded play at a United Volleyball Conference (UVC) tri-match on the campus of New York University with a 3-1 loss to the No. 2-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology on Sunday morning at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility.

For the second match of the event, the Soaring Eagles ran into a nationally-ranked opponent that was clicking on all cylinders. The Ducks maintained a .443 hitting percentage in the contest and bested the Purple and Gold in assists (58-to-36), blocks (9-to-6) and aces (5-to-1). EC, on the other hand, was held to a .189 attacking clip in the bout.

For the second consecutive bout, Ryan McDonough '19 led EC in kills, this time flooring 11 against Stevens. The Elmira middles, Matthew Buffum '18 and Landon Miller '20, were the Purple and Gold's next most effective attackers with eight and seven kills, respectively. Jeremy Best '19 was at the center of EC's offense, as he assisted on 35 of Elmira's 29 kills.

In the opening set of the day, the Ducks stormed out to an early lead with an 11-5 run to start the match. Stevens continued this pressure with multiple runs throughout the frame, ultimately taking the first by a 25-14 final score.

Heading into the second set, Elmira needed to find an answer to the Ducks' strong attack. EC did this in a big way in the second, going ahead by a 9-3 score after the first dozen points. The run was fueled by Miller, who tallied four of his seven kills in the match in the opening of the second. A 4-0 push a little later in the frame further extended EC's advantage to 10 points, 17-7. It was at that moment, however, that the Ducks settled in and took 14 of the next 18 points to knot the score at 21-all. Elmira remained resilient and took five of the final seven points to take the frame 25-23.

With the score tied at one set apiece, the third would prove to be the most critical of the contest. Both teams traded runs to start, with the Ducks taking an early 8-3 lead. The remainder of the frame saw neither team put together a run longer than two points, which favored Stevens as it held on to its early advantage to take the set by a 25-19 final score.

In the fourth set, the Ducks flew ahead by a 9-3 score after the first 12 points. Unfortunately for EC, Stevens did not let up its pressure for the entire fourth frame, as the Ducks sealed a four-set victory with a 25-14 win. The triumph is Stevens' fifth straight to start conference play and its seventh consecutive win overall.
 
News and Notes

• Elmira falls to 15-7 overall on the year.
• The Soaring Eagles are 2-4 in 2018 against nationally-ranked teams.
• EC's one service ace today is a season-low for the team.
• The Purple and Gold's five solo blocks are tied a season-high.
• Stevens' .443 hitting percentage today is the second-highest clip by an Elmira opponent this season.
• The Ducks improve to 9-1 in the all-time series against the Purple and Gold.
• McDonough has led the Soaring Eagles in kills in three of the last four matches.
• McDonough has also hit over a .250 clip in three of the last four matches.
• With 11 kills today, McDonough has floored 10-plus kills eight times this season.
• Miller's three solo blocks today are a career-high for the sophomore.
• Best has assisted on 35-or-more kills in five of the last six matches.

 
Up Next
The 15th-ranked Soaring Eagles will take a break from conference play this weekend, as they head to Rochester, New York, on Saturday, March 17, to take part in the St. John Fisher Invitational. At the event, Elmira will have rematches against both Hiram College at 1:00 p.m. and Baruch College at 3:00 p.m.