ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College men's volleyball team hosted the Bears of SUNY Potsdam inside Speidel Gymnasium on Friday evening. The Soaring Eagles and Bears played a close contest with Elmira claiming the victory in the fifth set.
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Potsdam jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the first set. A kill form Dylan Vargas continued some momentum for EC as they tied the set up at five. The first set was back and forth, kills by Gabriel Staron and Luke Jata tied up the set again, this time at nine. Drake Connors picked up a kill a few points later, this time tying it up at 13. EC scored three points in a row, capped off with a kill by Staron. The Bears responded with four points in a row to move back in front. Elmira got five of the next six points, including a kill by Ethan Davenport. The Bears scored four of the last five points, claiming the opening set 26-24. Set two with the teams trading the first 12 points evenly, including three kills by Connors for EC. The Soaring Eagles followed up with a 7-2 run, Jata picking up multiple kills during the run. Jata picked up another kill a bit later, part of a five-kill set for him, to put EC up 20-17 in the second set. The Bears tried to close the gap but fell short after a couple of errors, EC claiming the second set 25-22.

Staron started strong in the third set, picking up a couple kills for Elmira. Back-to-Back kills from Davenport and Connors put the Soaring Eagles up 8-5. Staron picked up two more kills a bit later, part of a seven-kill third set for him, to keep a three-point advantage for EC. Jata picked up final kill in set three, EC claiming the set 25-21, and a two to one advantage in the game. Potsdam opened the fourth set with two straight points, but the Soaring Eagles answered with three of their own. Potsdam pulled away with five of the next six points. Potsdam scored four more points in a row after that, pulling ahead 15-9 in set four. Elmira tried to get momentum back with kills from Staron and Jata but were unable to get multiple points in a row. A bit later, three straight kills by Jata tied up the set at 24. The Bears claimed back-to-back points to win the fourth set. Davenport picked a pair of kills early in set five as EC jumped out to a 5-2 lead. Connors and Vargas kept the momentum going as Elmira led 9-5. A kill by Staron finished off the contest, Elmira taking the fifth set 15-8, and the match 3-2.
 
LEADERS
Staron led the way for the Soaring Eagles with 21 kills and a trio of digs. Jata picked up 18 kills and tallied five digs. Erik Ziemblicki picked up 54 assists and notched six digs.
 
UP NEXT
The Soaring Eagles will be back inside Speidel Gymnasium on Saturday, February 21^st at 11:00 AM for a non-conference matchup with the Cougars of Misericordia University.