Score: Keuka College 3, Elmira College 1 (17-25, 25-20, 14-25, 20-25)
Records: Elmira (6-9), Keuka (4-4)
Location: JMW Recreation and Athletics Center - Keuka Park, N.Y.

KEUKA PARK, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's volleyball battled every step of the way, but the Soaring Eagles were unable to upend Keuka College in non-conference action, as the Wolves came out on top in a four-set thriller.

Keuka was stellar attacking on Wednesday evening, as the Wolves registered only 11 attacking errors en route to a .380 team hitting percentage. Keuka had a trio of players finish with double-digit kills, led by Brad McKnight, who posted a match-high 12. Elmira's offense flowed through the duo of Landon Miller '20 and Ryan McDonough '19. Miller posted 11 kills, while McDonough finished with 10. Jeremy Best '19 orchestrated EC's attack with 26 assists.

The Wolves jumped on the Purple and Gold in the opening set, as an early lead turned into a 25-17 win for Keuka. EC responded in the second set, as the Soaring Eagles surged back to take the set, 25-20. The two sides traded blows throughout, with EC eventually sneaking ahead late. Back-to-back kills from Miller knotted the score at 17-17 as neither side found much of an edge. Following a late Keuka timeout, EC rattled off four-straight points, highlighted by a pair of kills from McDonough, to knot the match at one set apiece.

Keuka halted the Purple and Gold's momentum in the third set as EC's offense sputtered. The Wolves took advantage, grabbing a 25-14 victory to go up two-sets-to-one heading into the fourth set.

The final set of the evening was another battle as the Purple and Gold pushed to force a fifth set. The Wolves built an early lead once again, but Elmira used a 4-0 run to claw back. An ace from Garrett Coleman '20 and a kill from Miller bookended a Keuka setting error as EC cut the deficit to three.  McDonough floored a kill to tie things up at 19-19, but that was as close as Elmira came to the Wolves, as Keuka used a 4-0 run to seal the victory.

News and Notes

• Keuka held the edge in digs, 39-30.
• McDonough was one dig shy of a double-double with a team-high nine digs.
• With two aces tonight, McDonough needs only six service aces to break the program record of 153 set by Ryan Gelenitis '14.
• Coleman tallied a match-high four aces.
• Miller's 11 kills were a season-high.
• Best is now 10 assists away from 3,000 for his career.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles return to United Volleyball Conference (UVC) play on Friday, February 22, when they battle Bard College. Opening serve against the Raptors is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.