Score: Elmira College 3, Nazareth College 2 (22-25, 15-25, 25-22, 27-25, 19-17)
Records: Elmira (19-7, 5-2 UVC), Nazareth (17-10, 4-3 UVC)
Location: Rochester, N.Y. -- Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Athletic Center
 
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's volleyball team earned an outstanding 3-2 comeback victory over long-time foe Nazareth College today at a United Volleyball Conference (UVC) tri-match held on the Campus of St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York. The Soaring Eagles trailed 2-0 after the first two sets, but rallied to win the last three. With the triumph, EC has clinched a spot in the UVC Tournament. 

As a result of poor-hitting performances in the first and second sets, EC's .171 hitting percentage was bested by Naz's .264 attacking clip for the contest. The Golden Flyers were also able to take slight leads in assists (55-to-53), blocks (15-to-9) and service aces (7-to-4). However, Elmira's resilience was shown by the Purple and Gold topping Nazareth in digs (36-to-33).

Jose Malave '21 paced the Soaring Eagles for the second consecutive match, as he tied a season-high with 16 kills. Matthew Buffum '18 also cracked double-digit kills with 14, in addition to posting a team-high .407 attack percentage. Jeremy Best '19 did a little bit of everything for EC, as he recorded 49 assists, eight digs, three blocks and three kills.

With the aforementioned Elmira struggles in the first and second frames, which resulted in 25-22 and 25-15 wins for the Golden Flyers, the Soaring Eagles began their comeback in the third set. EC opened the frame on a 5-0 run, which featured three Malave kills. Naz answered by taking six of the next eight points to draw the score to 7-6 in Elmira's favor. Following some back-and-forth play, the Soaring Eagles used a 3-0 run to take a 16-12 lead midway through the set. This four-point advantage proved crucial, as EC held on for the remainder of the frame to take the set, 25-22, and draw its deficit to 2-1.

In the second set of the contest, both teams traded short surges until the score was tied at 8-all after the first 16 points. The two teams continued to trade points until a Nazareth 3-0 surge put it 23-21. EC did not lose focus, however, as it won three of the next four points to tie the score at 24-24. Elmira continued to push, closing the frame on a 3-1 run to take a 27-25 win and to force a decisive fifth set. Buffum floored the final kill in the frame off of an assist from Best.

With the match on the line, neither team gave an inch to start the fifth set, as Elmira held a slim 6-5 advantage after the first 11 points. A 3-0 push by the Soaring Eagles, which was started by two Malave kills, put EC up four points, 9-5, near in the middle of the frame. After trading points for the next few minutes, Naz erased a five-point deficit, 14-9, with a 5-0 run of its own to tie the bout at 14-all. This led to each team winning one of the next six points until the score was again tied, this time at 17-17. Elmira took an 18-17 lead with a Buffum kill, before Ryan McDonough '19 stepped up to the service line and floored an ace to cap off a fantastic 3-2 comeback win for the Soaring Eagles.
 
In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Daniel Miranda shares his feelings about how his team fought back in today's crucial conference bout …
"I cannot begin to explain how proud I am of these guys. We had a slow start, but the boys recognized the moment and were able to pull off the best volleyball that they've played all season. Every single player stepped up today and got their job done."
 
News and Notes

• Elmira improves to 19-7 overall and to 5-2 in UVC play on the season.
• The Purple and Gold cliched a spot in the UVC Tournament with the win today. 
• EC has won its last four matches.
• The Soaring Eagles topped Nazareth twice this season and are 4-12 all-time against the Golden Flyers.
• Today's win marks the first time in program history that Elmira has defeated Naz twice in one year.
• EC is 8-2 this season in five-set matches.
• Nazareth's 29 block assists today are a season-high for an Elmira opponent.
• After posting a season-high 16 kills yesterday, Malave tied that mark again today against Naz.
• Buffum has recorded hitting percentages above .400 in three of the last four contests.
• Buffum has floored 10-plus kills in four straight tilts.
• McDonough's match-winning ace was his UVC-best 44th of the season.
• McDonough's 44 aces stand as the fifth-most in single-season EC history.
• Best has tallied 30-plus assists in five straight matches.

 
Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will play their final UVC tri-match of the season on Friday and Saturday, March 30-31, at home at Speidel Gymnasium. Elmira begins the event with a 5:00 p.m. bout against Vassar College on Friday, before playing a 2:30 p.m. match against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology the following afternoon.