AVCA Release

UVC Release

ELMIRA, NY -- After garnering Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week honors on Monday, Ryan McDonough '19 of the Elmira College men's volleyball team was announced as both the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Player of the Week and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)/Sports Imports National Player of the Week on Tuesday afternoon.

It marks the first time that the Lindenhurst, New York, native has collected weekly accolades from either organization. McDonough becomes just the fourth player in program history to receive the prestigious award from the AVCA and is the first to do so since former teammate Matthew Buffum '18 last season.

The senior standout led the Purple and Gold to a 2-1 showing at the Elmira College Inivitational, securing wins over Rutgers-Newark and D'Youville College. McDonough started the two-day affair off with a bang, as he recorded his first double-double of the season against UVC foe Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He registered 17 kills and 13 digs as Elmira battled the Engineers to four sets. The following afternoon, McDonough added another double-double to his ledger, posting 19 kills and a season-best 16 digs to lead Elmira past the Scarlet Raiders in five sets. The hot streak continued in a three-set thrashing of D'Youville, as McDonough floored 17 kills to go along with five digs, two aces and two blocks.

The six-foot-tall outside hitter paced EC over the weekend in kills (53), kills-per-set (4.42), digs (34), and aces (5), all while hitting at a .343 clip. On the season, McDonough leads EC with 319 kills and ranks fifth in the UVC in kills per set (3.22) and third in aces per set (0.46).

McDonough and the Soaring Eagles are back in action on Wednesday, March 20, when they host the Golden Flyers of Nazareth College in UVC action. Opening serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Speidel Gymnasium.