ELMIRA, N.Y.  – The Elmira College men's volleyball team opened its season victorious with a pair of wins over the visiting Bears from SUNY Potsdam. After travel restrictions removed Elizabethtown from the weekend, Elmira & Potsdam played a pair, with EC winning 3-0 & 3-1, respectively.
 
The freshman trio of Oscar Munoz Trinidad '25 (19), Alberto Mauricio '25 (16), and Edwin Sosa '25 (14) combined for 49 kills in the pair of matches to lead the Soaring Eagles. The wins marked the first time since the 2016 season that the Purple & Gold have opened the season 2-0.

JUST THE BASICS (Match 1):
Location: Elmira, New York | Speidel Gymnasium
Score: Elmira: 3, SUNY Potsdam: 0
Records: Elmira: (1-0, 0-0 UVC), SUNY Potsdam (2-1, 0-0 NECC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Soaring Eagles came out in set one and took a convincing victory. 25-15. After leading 7-5, Elmira pushed to take seven of the next eight points on three aces, two of which came from Mauricio. After trading points, Elmira finished the opening set with a kill from Eric Jackson '23, set up from Mauricio.
 
The second set proved to be the closest of the three, with EC narrowly edging the Bears 25-23. After Potsdam used a pair of points to take a 21-20 lead in the set, Elmira scored the next four points (two Potsdam errors) to retake the lead at 24-21. The Bears would fight back for a pair of points (EC service error & a Potsdam service ace), but Munoz Trinidad finished the threat with a kill from Neiram Galan-Canales '23.
 
In the third, EC went to work early and took a 3-1 lead due to three errors from the Bears. With Potsdam trailing 6-5, the Soaring Eagles used a service ace from Galan-Canales along with a kill from Ryan Hegna '25 to extend its lead to four. The lead would widen to as many as six in the set until a four-point outburst to end the match lifted Elmira to a 3-0 match victory.
 
ELMIRA LEADERS:
Munoz Trinidad – 6 kills, 1 block
Matt Amoddio – 5 kills, 2 service aces, 1 block
Galan-Canales – 17 assists
 
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JUST THE BASICS (Match 2):
Location: Elmira, New York | Speidel Gymnasium
Score: Elmira: 3, SUNY Potsdam: 1
Records: Elmira: (2-0, 0-0 UVC), SUNY Potsdam (2-2, 0-0 NECC) 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Elmira would keep its winning ways alive in match two by opening the contest with a 25-18 first-set victory. After Potsdam took an early 7-4 advantage, Elmira would score eight of the next nine points to retake a four-point lead at 12-8. After the Bears battled to bring the match within one point (18-17), Sosa (kill), Mauricio (kill), and Max Cohen '25 (service ace) gave EC a four-point advantage once again. Much like the first match of the day, Elmira would finish the set strong by scoring the last four points, including a pair of kills from Jordan Peiser '24 to take the victory.
The second set of the day was the only one the Bears could take, as they defeated the Soaring Eagles in a close 25-23 decision.
 
After Potsdam tied the match at 1-1, the Soaring Eagles would put its foot on the gas for a 25-18 set three victory, before taking the match with a 25-12 decision, their largest margin of victory on the afternoon.

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles will rest up before heading to SUNY Poly next Friday, where they will take on Wells (Jan. 21; 2:00 PM) and the Wildcats (4:00 PM), before taking on Baruch and Lasell at 3:00 & 5:00 PM on Saturday.