ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College men's volleyball team picked up its fifth straight-sets victory in just seven tries on Tuesday evening with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-21) victory over the Saints from D'Youville College. Reigning Empire 8 Player of the Week
Oscar Munoz Trinidad '24 paced Elmira, as the right side recorded 10 kills, pushing him into 4
th in NCAA Division III during the early season surge.
With the win, the Soaring Eagles are tied for the best start in program history (2016) with a 6-1 record.
JUST THE BASICS:
Location: Elmira, New York | Speidel Gymnasium
Score: Elmira: 3, D'Youville: 0
Records: Elmira: (6-1, 0-0 UVC), D'Youville (1-1, 0-0 IVA)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After D'Youville cashed in on a pair of Soaring Eagle errors to begin the match, Elmira was able to surge back for four straight points with
Edwin Sosa '25 at the serve. For the match, Sosa recorded four service aces, one behind Munoz Trinidad for the match lead.
After last holding the lead at 11-9, D'Youville surrendered nine of the next ten points to the Soaring Eagles, with Sosa and Munoz Trinidad at the service position once again. In all, the rally was sparked by three service aces, three kills from Munoz Trinidad, and one from
Eric Jackson '23. After taking a 19-13 lead in the set, Elmira and the Saints would trade points before
Jordan Peiser '24 put the opening set away with a kill from
Neiram Galan-Canales '23.
In the second set, the Saints once again took the early lead before five straight (10 of the next 12) points went in favor of the Soaring Eagles. Leading 10-3, the Soaring Eagles continued to cruise to a 17-8 advantage before D'Youville scored nine of the next 11 points to bring its deficit to just a pair at 19-17. After getting as close as 22-20, Elmira put the set away and took a 2-0 match lead on three straight points to end the frame.
Much like the second set, D'Youville scored the first point followed by seven of the next eight from EC as four kills, two attacking errors, and a service ace sparked the run. The Saints were able to pull its deficit to as close as two points before the Soaring Eagles scored eight of the next nine to increase its lead to 18-8. A late run from the Saints found D'Youville down just a pair (21-19) before a service error from DYC secured the third set victory for Elmira, 25-21.
UP NEXT:
Elmira travels to the campus of Baldwin Wallace this weekend as the Soaring Eagles are set for a trio of matches on Saturday and Sunday in Berea, Ohio. The Soaring Eagles will take on Thiel (Saturday – 5:00 PM) before taking on Millikin and Baldwin Wallace at 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM on Sunday, respectively.
