ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College men's volleyball team saw its 12-match winning streak come to an end on Friday night as the Soaring Eagles dropped a 3-0 decision at home against No. 13 St. John Fisher University in United Volleyball Conference action.
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 0, No. 13 St. John Fisher 3
LOCATION: Elmira, New York | Speidel Gymnasium
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (12-1, 0-1 UVC), St. John Fisher (13-1, 2-0 UVC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The opening set featured 11 ties and four lead changes as the Soaring Eagles battled to stay within striking distance of the Cardinals. EC recorded a pair of solo blocks from Luke Jata '27 and Jake Suffa '25, while Jata recorded four kills in the set.
- St. John Fisher was paced in the opening set by Griffin Stella, who recorded seven of the Cardinals' 13 kills. The Cardinals would take the opening set 25-23 despite hitting just .156, while Elmira hit .167 as a team.
- The tempo would be controlled from start to finish in the second set by the Cardinals, as there was just a pair of lead changes. St. John Fisher received five kills in the set from Coleton Welter and added one more block as a team.
- Elmira was paced in the second set by Jordan Peiser '24, as he recorded four kills, while Paten Buckwalter '28 and Dylan Vargas '27 each added three kills. EC improved its hitting percentage in the set (.217) but couldn't cool down the Cardinal's attack (.520) en route to dropping a 25-18 decision.
- The Soaring Eagles looked to extend the match in the third set, as EC used an early 5-0 run to take a 6-3 advantage against the Cardinals. St. John Fisher answered with a 3-0 run after the score was knotted 8-8 to gain an 11-8 edge.
- Trailing 19-16 in the set, EC rallied for three points to tie the score at 19-19, as Peiser tallied one of his four kills in the set. The Cardinals answered with a 3-0 run to take a 22-19 lead before using another 3-0 run to secure the 25-20 victory and complete the sweep.
- Peiser finished the match with a team-high 11 kills for the Soaring Eagles, while Buckwalter and Vargas added five kills each. Max Cohen '25 finished with 25 assists on the night for Elmira, while Vargas recorded a pair of solo blocks and one block assist for the Purple & Gold.
UP NEXT: The Soaring Eagles will look to start a new winning streak when they host Hilbert College in a non-conference matchup on Wednesday, February 26, inside Speidel Gymnasium. The match will begin at 6:00 p.m.
