ELMIRA, N.Y. -- In thrilling, come-from-behind fashion, the Elmira College men's volleyball team earned the squad's fourth win of the season, as EC overcame a two-sets-to-none deficit to defeat Misericordia on Pat Thompson '75 Court in Speidel Gymnasium.

With the victory, Elmira improved to 4-8 overall, while Misericordia moved to 8-5.

Garrett Coleman '20 turned in a masterful performance at the setter spot with a career-high 40 assists. Two Soaring Eagles finished with double-doubles, as Luke Milligan '23 posted 15 kills and 16 digs, while Eric Jackson '23 added 16 kills and 10 digs. Tyler Anderson '23 and Matt Straney '20 rounded out Elmira's attack with 16 and 14 kills, respectively.

Facing an uphill climb after Misericordia took the first two sets, the Soaring Eagles fed off of a raucous environment inside of Speidel Gymnasium to fuel their comeback charge. After trading blows early in the third frame, EC used a 5-to-0 run to seize a 17-14 advantage. Anderson led the way with a kill and a service ace.  The Cougars eventually tied the set at 19-19, but Elmira rattled off four consecutive points to take a 23-19 lead and cruised from there.

With the fate of the match hanging in the balance in the fourth set, Elmira's offense came alive with a match-best 15 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Neither side gave an inch throughout the frame, but EC eventually snuck ahead, 16-13, following a huge block from Coleman and rookie Ryan Mattes '23. The back-and-forth continued, as Ryan Miller floored a kill to give the visitors a match-point situation with the score at 25-24. Elmira didn't waver, however, and took the next three points to take the set, 27-25, and force a decisive fifth stanza.

Coleman kept the Purple and Gold's offense flowing in the fifth set, as EC hit at a match-high .444 clip. The two sides traded blows early, but back-to-back kills from Straney and Jackson put Elmira up, 11-9. The Soaring Eagles never looked back, as Jackson floored one final emphatic kill to seal the comeback at 15-12.

In his own words….
Head coach Daniel Miranda on what it took for the team to pick up tonight's victory…
"Tonight was an absolutely necessary win for us to get into a rhythm for our conference matches this weekend. Misericordia was outsmarting us early on, but the guys made the necessary adjustments and finish out the match. Simply put, Matt [Straney] is a beast whose energy is contagious to the rest of the team and it helped push us over the top tonight. Our young group is starting to play together at the level we've known they were capable of."

News and Notes

• Elmira improved to 3-0 all-time against Misericordia.
• EC edged the Cougars in digs, 54-to-52.
• The Soaring Eagles have won both of their five-set matches this season.
• Coleman's 40 assists are a career-best.
• Milligan posted the second double-double of his young career.
• Milligan's 16 digs were a season-best.
• Jackson's double-double was the first of his career.
• Straney finished one block shy of his season-best with five.
• Alex Adelman '22 posted double-digit digs (14) for the second time this season.
• Haenhyanonhna Powless '23 registered a season-best 17 assists.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles open United Volleyball Conference (UVC) play on the road on Friday, February, 14 with a matchup against MIT. Opening serve against the Engineers is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.