ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College men's volleyball team used the hometown crowd to its advantage on Wednesday evening, riding the energy and defeating the visiting Cougars from Misericordia University in straight-sets inside Speidel Gymnasium.
After taking the first two sets, the Soaring Eagles countered a 7-0 Cougar run in the third, erasing a 23-16 deficit to score the final nine points of the match capped by a service ace from Oscar Munoz Trinidad '23. For the match, the Soaring Eagles would double the Misericordia team kill total, attacking for 40 of its own led by Alberto Mauricio '25 with 14.
Jordan Peiser '23 and Munoz Trinidad would finish with eight and six kills respectively on the evening, while Max Cohen '25 added 30 set assists.
JUST THE BASICS:
Location: Elmira, N.Y. | Speidel Gymnasium
Score: Elmira: 3, Misericordia: 0
Records: Elmira: (6-1, 0-0 UVC), Misericordia (6-12, 0-0 Middle Atlantic)
The Soaring Eagles would come out and hand the Cougars its largest set loss in the first, defeating the opposition 25-17 to gain the early advantage in the match. The Purple & Gold posted a 77.0% sideout (14-of-18), while the Cougars were in control of the serve. Peiser would post five kills in the set, as the Soaring Eagles hit .281% as a team compared to .000% for Misericordia.
In the second, Mauricio would provide six kills for the Soaring Eagles, who would see a slight decrease in its hitting percentage (.217%) compared to an increase for the visitors. Despite, Elmira would go on to narrowly take the second set 25-22, controlling the 2-0 advantage in the match as Alex Vega '26 recorded just his third kill of the campaign on a setter dump, something he would do twice in the evening.
The third and final set would prove to be the most exciting of the evening, as the Soaring Eagles and Cougars battled to 16 ties and four lead changes in the frame. After the Soaring Eagles fell behind 23-16 following a 7-0 Cougar run, the match looked to be heading to a fourth set before Munoz Trinidad headed to the service position. Rallying for nine straight points, Munoz Trinidad would cap the match with one of his team-leading three service aces, securing the third and final set 25-23 and the match 3-0 for the Soaring Eagles.
UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles will return to Speidel Gymnasium to open up United Volleyball Conference play on Sunday when hosting the #10 nationally-ranked Violets from New York University. First serve is set for 1:00 PM.
