NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The Elmira College men's volleyball team concluded the 2022 season on Friday evening after a 3-1 loss to No. 9 nationally-ranked Vassar College in the quarterfinal round of the United Volleyball Conference tournament.

After dropping the first two sets, the Soaring Eagles used a late run in the third to force another set. In what would be a tightly-contested fourth set, the Soaring Eagles would eventually run out of steam as the Brewers went on to a 25-22 victory.

Alberto Mauricio '25 paced the Soaring Eagles with 10 kills, while Neiram Galan-Canales '23 added 18 assists. Edwin Sosa '25 finished the contest with a pair of solo blocks. 

JUST THE BASICS (MATCH ONE):
SCORE: Elmira 1, Vassar 3
LOCATION: New Paltz, New York | Hawk Center
RECORDS: Elmira (17-13, 3-4 UVC), Vassar (18-5, 5-2 UVC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Brewers were able to control the pace of play in the opening set, which would turn out in their favor, 25-20. In the frame, the Brewers would jump out to a 7-4 lead in the frame before a pair of attacking errors trimmed the Soaring Eagle deficit to just one. Leading 12-10, the Brewers were able to put together a 7-2 run which extended the lead to 19-12. The Elmira offense would conclude the first set with kills from Sosa and Mauricio, but it wasn't enough as Vassar took the opening set 25-20. 

The Brewers continued their momentum into the second set and would go on to win the set by its largest margin of the evening, 25-14. The Soaring Eagles were held to a .000% hitting percentage in the frame, while Vassar hit .526% with 13 kills and just three errors. 

The third set saw the Soaring Eagles begin to gain its stride. Trailing 17-15 in the late-going, Elmira got kills from Mauricio and Oscar Munoz Trinidad '23 to eventually regain the lead at 18-17. Vassar would eventually retake the lead at 23-22 before the Soaring Eagles went on to take four of the final five points to force a fourth set with a 26-24 set victory. In the set, the Brewer had nine attacking errors. 

The fourth set played very similarly to the third as the teams went back and forth. With Elmira leading 19-18 down the stretch, the Brewers took five of the next six points which flipped momentum and the score in their favor, 23-20. The Soaring Eagles would receive a kill from Galan-Canales before the Brewers eventually took the set 25-22. 

For the match, the Soaring Eagles hit just .103% compared to .290% for the Brewers. With the loss, Elmira's season comes to an end.