Score: Elmira College 3, Mount St. Joseph University 2 (22-25, 25-19, 25-23, 19-25, 15-7)
Records:  Elmira (9-13), Mount St. Joseph (4-13)
Location: Speidel Gymnasium – Elmira, N.Y.

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's volleyball team pulled out a thrilling five-set win inside Speidel Gymnasium on Friday evening, as the Soaring Eagles downed non-conference foe Mount St. Joseph University to pick up their ninth win of the season.

Spurred on by a 20-kill, nine-dig, performance from senior Ryan McDonough '19, the Purple and Gold were able to overcome tight losses in the first and third sets to earn a gutsy victory. Junior Matt Straney '20 added eight kills while hitting at a team-high .462 clip. Jeremy Best '19 posted a match-best 45 assists to go along with two blocks.

After falling by a score of 25-22 in the opening set, the Soaring Eagles came roaring back to take the next two sets to race out to a two-sets-to-one lead.

Trailing 14-13 in the second set, Dan Symer '20 kick-started a 7-0 run with one of his nine kills, as Elmira claimed a 20-14 edge. The two sides traded blows from there, but a pair of kills from Straney cemented EC's lead, as the junior eventually brought the set to a close off of a feed from Best.

The Soaring Eagles kept the momentum rolling into the third set, as EC opened on a 5-0 run behind the serving of Jose Malave '21, who tallied a pair of aces. The Lions crawled back into the set following a series of miscues by EC's offense, which forced the Purple and Gold into a timeout with the score at 19-18. Elmira turned to Straney once again, as the junior delivered another kill to halt the Lions momentum.  A kill from Malave brought the score to set-point, as McDonough polished off the set two points later, to give EC a 25-23 win.

Mount St. Joseph rebounded in the fourth set, as Jason Hascher tallied four kills to lead the Lions to a 25-19 win and force a decisive fifth set. The final set of the evening saw the two sides go back-and-forth early with neither team gaining much separation. Best swung the momentum in EC's favor with a sneaky kill, which brought rookie Alex Adelman '22 to the service line. Behind the freshman, the Purple and Gold rattled off seven-consecutive points to take a commanding 14-6 lead. Following a side-out by the Lions, Malave put a definitive stamp on the match with a thunderous kill to seal the victory.
 
In his own words…
Head coach Daniel Miranda on the team's gritty performance...
"It's great to finally have everyone back and healthy. We found a way to get the job done tonight and it's a testament to the guys. It was a huge win for us heading into another big conference match against MIT."

News and Notes

• Elmira's victory knotted the all-time series with Mount St. Joseph at 3-3.
• EC held the edge in digs, 44-43.
• The Soaring Eagles posted eight service aces compared to two from Mount St. Joseph.
• Ryan Branigan '19 finished with a team-leading 13 digs.
• Symer and Malave posted nine kills apiece.
• Malave and McDonough each posted three service aces while Adelman added two.
• McDonough has posted double-digit kills in five-straight matches.
• McDonough's 20 kills were a season-high.
• Best has tallied at least 40 assists in 10 matches this season.  

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles remain at home to host the two-day Elmira College Invitational on Friday, March 15, and Saturday, March 16. EC opens the tournament on Friday with a United Volleyball Conference (UVC) match against Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 8:00 p.m.