HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The Elmira College men's volleyball team came up short in a pair of matches against No. 11 nationally-ranked Juniata College on Saturday afternoon, as the Eagles (6-0) earned two 3-0 wins over the Soaring Eagles (0-4).

Juniata 3, Elmira 0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-11)
The closest set in the opening match between the two feathered foes was the second. With Juniata leading 3-2 early, the Purple and Gold won six of the next seven points. The 6-1 run began with a kill from Matt Amoddio '22 and included two additional kills from Eric Jackson '23. Jackson tossed up an ace to make it 7-4 EC, then Amoddio combined with Neiram Galán-Canales '23 at the net for a block that widened the margin to 8-4. The Eagles, however, quickly flipped the script. Juniata won eight of the next nine points to take a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

In the first match, Jackson (6), Amoddio (4), and Ryan Mattes '23 (4) led the Soaring Eagles in kills. Mattes produced a .273 attack percentage, the best on the team in the match, in addition to one ace and one solo block.

Juniata 3, Elmira 0 (25-18, 28-26, 25-16)
Elmira performed better in the second half of Saturday's doubleheader. The Soaring Eagles posted a season-high 28 kills, 10 more than the afternoon's first match, while committing a season-low three receiving errors.

Once again, the second set proved to be the most exciting, needing extra points before the host Eagles won, 28-26. In that set, EC finished with more kills than Juniata, 16-to-12, but the Eagles had a better attack percentage, .320-to-.211.

Elmira raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second set, with the team's first four points coming from Juniata errors. Back-to-back kills from Jackson and Alex Adelman '22 put EC up by five at 8-3. Leading 11-8, the Soaring Eagles earned five of the next six points to take their largest lead of any set on Saturday at 16-9. But the hosts fought back, eventually tying the score at 24-all. The score remained even at 26-26 before Juniata's Drew Hunker floored two straight kills to claim the set and a 2-0 match advantage.

Jackson recorded a match-high-tying 11 kills for Elmira, followed by Adelman with seven. In his first appearance as a setter, Oscar Muñoz Trinidad '23 dished out a match-high 22 assists.

News and Notes

• Saturday's matches were Elmira's first against a ranked foe in 2021.
• During the second match against Juniata, the Soaring Eagles logged season highs in kills (28), assists (26), and digs (19).
• Jackson led all Soaring Eagles offensively with a combined 17 kills.
• Jackson, Mattes, and Amoddio each produced two total blocks.
• Alex Nuez '22 had a team-best 11 digs in the two matches.
• Muñoz Trinidad and Galán-Canales shared setting duties, with the former earning 22 assists and the latter picking up 20.

Up Next
On Saturday, March 13, Elmira will travel to Rochester, New York, for two matches against United Volleyball Conference (UVC) and Empire 8 Conference rival St. John Fisher College. The first meeting will start at 2:00 p.m.