ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira men's volleyball team took the court once again inside Speidel Gymnasium, where it took on the Hawks of SUNY New Paltz. After dropping the first two sets, the Soaring Eagles bounced back, taking the third set 25-18, before falling in the fourth and ending the match in a 3-1 defeat.

Edwin Sosa '25 led the Soaring Eagles in kills, tallying 21 on the afternoon.

JUST THE BASICS:
Location: Elmira, NY | Speidel Gymnasium
Score: Elmira: 1, New Paltz: 3
Records: Elmira: (7-9, 1-3 UVC), New Paltz (15-9, 1-2 UVC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Soaring Eagles dropped the first set, 25-22. The set saw both teams tied at 12 at the midway point. However, New Paltz would score four of the following five points, giving them a three-point advantage. The Hawks would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the set, and despite Elmira making it close at the end and bringing the deficit to just one point, the Hawks closed out the set with two consecutive points. Sosa paced the squad with seven kills in the first set.
• The second set began promisingly for Elmira, as it jumped out to an early 5-1 lead while notching five kills from Sosa, Jordan Peiser '24, and Jake Suffa '25. The Soaring Eagles held the lead until a pair of EC errors gave New Paltz two consecutive points and an 11-10 lead. After a Peiser kill tied the game at 11, the Hawks notched three straight points and never led by less than two for the remainder of the set, ending the round on top, 25-21. Sosa led the Soaring Eagles with four kills in the set, while Peiser added three more.
• The third set began with neither team building more than a two-point lead, as the Purple & Gold held a narrow 10-9 advantage in the middle of the set. However, five consecutive Elmira points saw its lead grow to six points. From that point, the Soaring Eagles cruised to a comfortable 25-18 victory and forced a fourth set. Sosa once again led Elmira with seven kills during the third set.
• The fourth set saw the Hawks build a 13-6 advantage after a five-point unanswered streak. From there, the Soaring Eagles tried to get back into the contest, bringing their deficit down to two when a New Paltz attacking error made it 17-15. From there, Elmira kept close to the Hawks but never brought the deficit down to less than two points, and SUNY New Paltz was able to hold on for the 25-22 victory and defeat the Soaring Eagles in four sets.
• Max Cohen '25 tallied 41 set assists during the match while notching two kills with a .667 hitting percentage.
• Dylan Vargas '27 led the squad with four blocks, and Luke Jata '27 finished with three during the afternoon. Jata also slammed seven kills, good for third on the team.

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles stay in Elmira for their next match and take on the Golden Flyers of Nazareth University on Wednesday, March 13, at 7:00 p.m.