ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's volleyball team took a set from No. 6 nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College at Pat Thompson '75 Court inside Speidel Gymnasium, but the Cardinals won Friday's United Volleyball Conference (UVC) match in four sets.

Fisher (6-3, 4-1 UVC) began the night with a 25-19 win in the first set before the Soaring Eagles (0-13, 0-6 UVC) found their groove in the second. Elmira tied a match-high with 15 kills in the set, while hitting a team-best .357 (15k-5a-28ta) and siding out at 72%. In the second set alone, Eric Jackson '23 floored five of his team-leading 14 kills, followed by Jordan Peiser '24 with four. Ryan Mattes '23 recorded all of his kills in the second set, knocking down three of his four swings.

The Soaring Eagles were unable to ride the momentum in the third, however. EC only attacked at a rate of just .032, their lowest of the match. Despite their struggles in the set, the Soaring Eagles didn't go down without a fight. Trailing 21-16, Elmira won four consecutive points, including two kills and an ace from Peiser. Fisher's Eric Bentivegna responded with two kills of his own to lead the Cardinals on a 3-1 run to close the third and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The early portion of the fourth set was back-and-forth. Down 6-4, EC won three consecutive points, two of which were earned on kills from Oscar Muñoz Trinidad '23 and Matt Amoddio '22. Later tied at 9-all, Jackson put Elmira up by two with a pair of kills on back-to-back points.

Even after St. John Fisher jumped ahead with seven of the next eight points, Elmira clawed back to even the score at 16-16, 18-18, and again at 20-20. The Cardinals were able to seal the set win by taking the next four points, three of which resulted from EC errors.

News and Notes

• Elmira's last two matches against St. John Fisher have been decided in four sets.
• Against the No. 6-ranked Cardinals, the Soaring Eagles produced season highs in attack percentage (.188) and blocks (8).
• EC finished Friday's contest with more kills (44-to-43), digs (42-to-40), and total blocks (8-to-7).
• Jackson has logged double-digit kills in three straight matches.
• Jackson's 14 kills against Fisher are a season-high.
• Muñoz Trinidad earned the first double-double of his career with 10 kills and 13 digs.
• Neiram Galán-Canales '23 tied a season-high with 36 assists.
• Mattes and Galán-Canales each had a team-high four block assists.

Up Next
Elmira's 2021 UVC schedule wraps up on Sunday, March 28, when the Soaring Eagles host No. 4-ranked SUNY New Paltz. The two teams will play a doubleheader, with the first match set to begin at 2:00 p.m.