The Elmira College community was saddened to learn of Ellen Gibbs Matson's passing on Friday morning. Matson was a nine-year veteran of the Elmira College Department of Athletics from 1979 to 1988 serving as coach, Director of Intramurals and a Physical Education instructor.
 
During her nine-year tenure as head coach of the women's volleyball team (1979-87) she amassed 136 wins, the second-most victories in program history. Elmira recorded four winning seasons during that time, including a pair of 20-win seasons and three consecutive ECAC Playoff appearances from 1983-85.
    After a 2-1 week with wins over Houghton and Alfred, the Soaring Eagles will look to keep the momentum going in a three-game week, two of which will take place on EC's home hardwood at Speidel Gymnasium. Elmira hosts Nazareth on Tuesday, January 24th, at 6:00 p.m. in E8 action, before taking on non-conference foe Wells College at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 26th. The Elmira women will also be on the road this weekend, as the Purple and Gold travel to face Hartwick on Saturday, January 28th, at 2:00 p.m.
  Elmira got off the schneid with last Saturday's 66-63 win over visiting Ithaca – EC's first conference win of the year – and will look to make it two wins in a row against E8 competition this Tuesday, January 24th, when the Soaring Eagles host the Golden Flyers of Nazareth College. Tuesday's tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. inside Speidel Gymnasium.  
  It has been two months since the Elmira men have played in a conference game, but that streak comes to an end this weekend, as the Soaring Eagles host Stevenson and Lebanon Valley in ECAC West action. The Soaring Eagles will look to avenge an early-season overtime loss to Stevenson on Friday, January 27th, when EC hosts the Mustangs at the Murray Athletic Center at 7:00 p.m. Elmira will then take on the Dutchmen of Lebanon Valley the following night at the MAC at 7:00 p.m. in hopes of sweeping the regular-season series. Shuttle buses will be available for both games for EC students; the bus will depart the campus bus loop 45 minutes prior to the puck drop and leaves the MAC at approximately 9:15 p.m.
  The No. 4/5 ranked Soaring Eagles look to be back on track after solidifying their fifth consecutive win on Saturday afternoon, improving to 12-2-2 on the season. Elmira embarks on its toughest stretch of games of the 2016-17 season this week, as EC faces No. 8/10 nationally-ranked Amherst in a Tuesday, January 24th, road bout, before facing conference rival Utica in a home-and-home series over the weekend. EC's lone home contest of the week is set for Sunday, January 29th, against the Pioneers of Utica at 3:00 p.m. A shuttle bus will be available for EC students; the bus will depart the campus bus loop 45 minutes prior to the puck drop and leaves the MAC at approximately 5:15 p.m.
  Elmira's road tour to open the 2017 season continues this weekend with a two-day excursion to Virginia and Maryland. The Soaring Eagles compete in the Marymount Invitational on Friday, January 27th, before setting their sights on the Stevenson Invitational the following day. EC will have the chance to avenge its season-opening loss to Marymount on Friday, and will also face its highest-ranked opponent of the season on Sunday in No. 5 Stevenson.
 
  Elmira stood toe-to-toe with No. 9/10 Hobart – who has now moved up to No. 7/6 in the nation this morning – in a neutral site matchup at the W.G. Allyn Ice Arena in Skaneateles, N.Y. Hobart struck first with 2:30 remaining in the opening period, but Elmira responded with a power-play goal from Eddie Nolan '17 11:25 into the second stanza to level the bout at 1-1. The Statesmen fired back just under five-and-a-half minutes later with a power-play tally of their own, as Hobart skated into the final intermission with a 2-1 lead. EC would not go away quietly in the third, however, as Mitch Atkins '19 hooked up with Kevin DiMagno '20 to knot things up at 2-2 at the 6:07 mark. Unfortunately, Hobart's Bobby Sokol followed up with a second-chance punch-in goal with 6:16 left on the clock to give the Statesmen a late one-goal advantage. In the closing 30 seconds of regulation, Elmira's Connor Powell '20 nearly sent the game into overtime, but his heavy wrister from the left faceoff circle rattled off the left pipe and back onto the ice, as EC suffered a 3-2 loss. Senior netminder Sal Magliocco '17 had another solid outing between the pipes with a season-high 46 saves.
  Elmira went 3-0-0 last week with wins over Williams and William Smith. The Soaring Eagles exploded for six goals in a one-sided 6-1 victory over the Ephs on Tuesday night. Maddie Evangelous '19 led the pack with three goals, which marked the sophomore's first-ever hat-trick performance. Then in Elmira's home-and-home series with William Smith, the Purple and Gold topped the Herons by identical 4-1 scores to remain perfect in ECAC West play at 10-0-0. Meghan Fonfara '18 led the way in EC's Friday night home win with two goals, while Shannon Strawinski '19 extended her consecutive point streak to four games by scoring the game-winning tally in Saturday's road victory.
  After opening the week with back-to-back road losses to Houghton and Alfred, the Soaring Eagles bounced back with an impressive 66-63 win over Ithaca at Speidel Gymnasium on Saturday. It was a close affair throughout, with Ithaca holding the largest lead of the game (9 points) with 12:07 to play in the second half. Elmira clawed its way back in the second stanza behind the efforts of Alex Ischiropoulos '20 and Henry Cuffee '19, who combined to score 20 of EC's final 26 points of the contest. Also aiding EC's rally was Ithaca's erratic free-throw shooting down the stretch, as the Bombers missed three consecutive free-throws, which set up a go-ahead 3-ball from Ischiropolous at the 4:15 mark; EC would never relinquish its lead from that point on. Four players finished with double digit points – Ischiropoulos (17), Davis (12), Cuffee (11) and Adelson (11) – while a 10-plus rebound advantage helped secure Elmira's first E8 win of the season.
  A strong second-half effort against Houghton and a complete-game performance versus Alfred helped the Soaring Eagles pick up back-to-back conference wins last week. Elmira trailed by nine points at the halftime break against Houghton, but a 22-13 fourth quarter paved the way for a 65-62 comeback win over the Highlanders on their home hardwood. Rachel Vespucci '19 paced the Purple and Gold with a monster double-double of 15 points and 18 rebounds. Elmira's win against Alfred was a bit more routine, as the Soaring Eagles controlled the game from the opening tip. Lauren Franklin '20 dazzled for EC with her first collegiate double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, which guided the Elmira to a 64-52 triumph over the Saxons.
  First-year Head Coach Daniel Miranda picked up his first win as the bench boss for the Soaring Eagles at this past weekend's Golden Dome Invitational with a five-set upset victory over No. 11 Rutgers-Newark. It marked the second time in Elmira's brief history that a head coach earned their first win against a nationally ranked opponent (Jeff Lennox – 2011). Three players finished with double-digit kills for Elmira, led by Mark Kawecki '17 and his 15 kills. Ryan McDonough '18 produced a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs, while middle hitter Matthew Buffum '18 chipped in with 13 kills and four blocks. Jeremy Best '19 orchestrated the EC attack with 45 assists en route to EC logging its best attack percentage of the season (.258). Elmira's high level of play could not be maintained through the rest of the invite, as EC dropped its next two matches to No. 15 Juniata and Lasell in straight sets.