CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Elmira College men's volleyball team picked up a big United Volleyball Conference victory on Friday evening, defeating the Engineers from MIT in comeback fashion, 3-2. After the Soaring Eagles were down 2-1 in the match, Elmira picked up two big points to take the fourth 28-26 before taking the 5th and final set, 15-10.

Alberto Mauricio '25, Oscar Munoz-Trinidad '23, and  Eric Jackson '23 combined for 41 kills in the match, with Mauricio and Munoz-Trinidad each adding 15 to the ledger. In the 5th set, EC jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead before using a five-point stretch nearing the middle of the stretch to pull away 10-5. The game was won for the Soaring Eagles after MIT committed a service error. 

For Elmira, it was its first win over the Engineers since the 2015 season, which was also won in Cambridge.

JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 3, MIT 2
LOCATION: Cambridge, Massachusetts | Rockwell Cage
RECORDS: Elmira (11-7, 1-2 UVC), NYU (9-5, 1-3 UVC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Soaring Eagles got into an early hole after the Engineers took two of the first three sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match. In the set, the Soaring Eagles outkilled MIT 13-12 but the Engineers held the advantage in errors, committing three less than Elmira. After the Purple & Gold used a five-point stretch to take a 10-5 lead, the Engineers went for ten of the next 12 points to take a 15-12 lead. From there, the teams would change serves with the home squad eventually taking the set 25-20. 

In the second, the Soaring Eagles jumped out to a 12-6 lead before a quick run from MIT saw Elmira's lead dwindle down to just one point, 15-14. From there, a kill from Ryan Mattes '23 saw EC jump back out to a two-point lead. The Engineers would continue to hold the EC lead at just a pair of points before the Soaring Eagles took the final two points on a kill from Jackson and an attacking error from the Engineers. 

Tied 1-1, the Engineers would outhit the Soaring Eagles .217% to .000% despite MIT committing two more errors than Elmira. The first half of the set saw Elmira down just a point before the Engineers took seven of the next eight points to take a 15-10 lead in the set. The home team would eventually extend its lead to nine points before winning by the largest margin of victory in the match, 25-16. 

The Soaring Eagles fought into the fourth set, increasing its hitting percentage to .269% and jumping out to an early 7-1 lead on three MIT service errors and three kills. From there, MIT would score 11 of the next 17 points to cut its deficit to just one, 13-12. After the Engineers extended the set with an attacking error from EC, the Engineers would return to the favor to conclude the set and tie the match at 2-2 as the Purple & Gold won the set 28-26. 

In the fifth and final set, the Soaring Eagles hit an astonishing .500%, recording 11 kills compared to just two attacking errors.  In the set, EC jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead before using a five-point stretch nearing the middle of the stretch to pull away 10-5. The game was won for the Soaring Eagles after MIT committed a service error. 

UP NEXT:
Elmira will play a pair of games tomorrow afternoon as they take on Endicott at 12:00 PM before taking on No. 1 nationally-ranked Springfield at 2:00 PM on the campus of Endicott College.