BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Elmira Men's Volleyball team was able to avenge last nights' loss in Buffalo to D'Youville on Sunday afternoon, picking up a pair of wins against Adrian and Medaille on the campus of Medaille University. Elmira, who posted hitting percentages of greater than .350% in each of its matches on the afternoon, head home with a pair of sweeps to conclude its weekend in Buffalo.
JUST THE BASICS (GAME ONE):
SCORE: Elmira 3, Adrian 0
LOCATION: Buffalo, New York | Kevin I. Sullivan Center
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (11-6, 2-3 UVC), Adrian (13-9, 0-2 MVCL)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Soaring Eagles would face little issue against the Bulldogs in the attacking category, as the Soaring Eagles combined to hit .395% as a team, its second-best hitting contest of the season behind its .491% against Hilbert on January 28. The opening set would be tied at 5-5 in the early going before the Soaring Eagles and Bulldogs traded points, with the majority of both squads scoring coming in pairs over the set. With Elmira leading by three late, the Soaring Eagles would put the set to rest with a kill from Edwin Sosa '25 to go along with a pair of Bulldog errors, taking the opening frame 25-20.
In the second, Adrian would take five of the first six points on successful attacking and just one Soaring Eagle error. After some back-and-forth and the Soaring Eagles trailing 11-9, Elmira put together a run of six consecutive scores on a trio of Bulldog errors and kills from Alex Vega '26, Jordan Peiser '23, and Ryan Mattes '23 to take its first lead of the set, 14-11. The set would get as close as Elmira leading by one in the late part of the set, but ultimately it would be Elmira who would score four of the final five points to win the set 25-21.
In the third, the Soaring Eagles would put together one of its highest hitting percentage sets of the season (.600%), combining for 13 kills and just one error on 20 attempts. The high percentage offensively would be enough for Elmira to take the third and final set from the Bulldogs, 25-16, and the match in straight sets.
Haenhyanonhna Powless '23 led the way on offense for Elmira with nine kills and a .395 hitting percentage while Jordan Pesier chipped in eight kills and a .438 hitting percentage. Mattes and Oscar Munoz Trinidad '23 combined for 13 kills, both eclipsing a .500% hitting percentage in the win while Max Cohen '25 recorded 30 set assists.
JUST THE BASICS (GAME TWO):
SCORE: Elmira 3, Medaille 0
LOCATION: Buffalo, New York | Kevin I. Sullivan Center
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (12-6, 2-3 UVC), Medaille (6-14, 2-5 AMCC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Soaring Eagles would record its third-lowest attacking error match of the season (10) following its win over Adrian, as Elmira was able to pick up its second straight-sets victory of the afternoon over Medaille. As a team, the Soaring Eagles combined for 44 kills on 95 attempts, with half of its attacking errors coming in the third and final frame despite picking up its largest set victory of the afternoon.
Sosa and Mattes would combine for 22 kills on the afternoon, with each proving a hitting percentage above .500% in the match.
In the opening set, the Mavericks would take the first three points before Elmira rallied to tie the score at 9-9. From there, the Soaring Eagles would put together a stretch, taking seven of the next eight points to break the tie and take a 16-10 lead, with all of its points coming at the expense of Medaille errors. From there, the teams would exchange scores before Elmira ultimately scored each of the last three points, securing a 25-18 first-set victory following a kill from Mattes.
In the second, the Mavericks would record its only positive hitting percentage in a set against EC as the frame would require extra points to determine a winner. With the Soaring Eagles trailing 22-19, a kill from Peiser and a pair of Maverick errors would allow the visiting squad to tie the score at 22-22 before being down to its final point following an Elmira error. Despite this, Elmira would once again score the final three points, all kills, with a pair from Sosa and one from Powless to take the set 26-24.
In the final set, the Soaring Eagles would boast a hitting percentage of .387%, recording a match-best 17 kills in the set on its way to the 25-13 third set victory and another sweep on the afternoon.
UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles will take some time off before returning home on March 31 for its regular season home finale against United Volleyball Conference opponent Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Senior Day.
