Elmira, N.Y. – The Elmira College men's volleyball team opened the 2026 season with two matches against Bard College inside Speidel Gymnasium this afternoon. The Soaring Eagles picked up a 3-0 victory in match one (25-23, 25-19, 25-15) followed by a 3-1 victory in match two (25-15, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22) to open the season 2-0.

MATCH 1 | vs. Bard, 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-15)
In set one, the Soaring Eagles quickly fell behind the Raptors who went on a 3-0 run. Three consecutive errors from the Raptors quickly put EC back in the race, trailing by one (8-7). With the score tied at 11-11, kills from Luke Jata and Drake Connors quickly pushed EC ahead 14-11. Four consecutive points for Bard quickly tied the match until kills from Gabriel Staron, Ethan Davenport, and Jata propelled Elmira ahead for the set one victory (25-23).

In set two, an early 5-0 run from the Soaring Eagles featured a pair of kills from Jata to take the 6-1 advantage. In a back-and-forth action-packed set, a service ace from Staron and Davenport continued to tack onto EC's lead. A late 3-0 run at the end of the set secured the 25-19 victory for Elmira. In the third set, EC quickly jumped ahead with a 4-0 run. Another four consecutive points featured kills from Staron and Jata to push ahead 12-6. A service ace from Anthony D'Amore and kills from Jata, Staron, Connors, and Davenport pushed the Soaring Eagles to their first sweep of the 2026 season (25-15).

LEADERS
Jata led the way offensively with 14 kills in the match followed by Connors and Staron with eight of their own. Nick Rohman tallied 26 assists while Barton marked 15 digs.

MATCH 2 | vs. Bard, 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22)
In set one, both teams were hot out of the gates in a back-and-forth contest. Elmira jumped ahead first with a 4-0 run, seeing Davenport with a kill. The Raptors tried to chip at the deficit but kills from Jata, Rohman, Staron and a service ace from Davenport surged EC ahead, 15-7. Late kills from Staron paired with a service ace from Connors led EC to a 25-15 set victory. In set two, the Soaring Eagles broke away early once again featuring back-to-back service aces from Rohman and a kill from Staron. A 6-0 run pushed EC ahead 17-10, closing out the set with a trio of kills from Staron to secure the 25-21 victory.

In the third set, Bard looked for their chance to steal one from Elmira. The Raptors hit their grove and went on a 5-0 run to break away from the Soaring Eagles. Kills from Davenport and Staron looked to flip the switch, but the Raptors responded with two points of their own. In a back-and-forth high-paced finish, the Raptors managed to secure their lone set win of the day (22-25). In set four, the Raptors were first to jump ahead until a kill from Staron paired with a service ace from Rahmon saw EC steal the lead. The entire set saw both teams trading points until a late 3-0 run from the Soaring Eagles pushed them ahead once again. A kill from Staron secured the 25-22 win and gave Elmira a 2-0 start to the 2026 campaign.

LEADERS
Staron and Jata led the way offensively with 16 kills apiece followed by Davenport with 12 of his own. Rohman tallied 39 assists while Staron, Barton, and Jata each recorded eight digs.

UP NEXT
The Soaring Eagles will return to action on Friday, January 23 as they take their first road trip to Drew University in Dallas, PA. The match is set to begin at 5:00 PM.