ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College men’s volleyball team has put together another historic season, as first-year head coach Ryan McDonough ’19 has led the Soaring Eagles to back-to-back United Volleyball Conference tournament appearances for the first time in program history.
The Purple & Gold (13-8, 2-4 UVC), who enter the tournament as the #5 seed, are receiving votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, and will take on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Friday evening inside Kenyon Hall on the campus of Vassar College at 5:00 PM.
The UVC, which is deemed one of the best conferences in the nation at the Division III level, currently has all seven of its teams either ranked in the nation’s latest Top-15 poll, or receiving votes. Elmira, who was slated to finish last in the conference’s annual preseason poll, has taken on seven nationally-ranked opponents this season, with nine of its 21 matches coming against teams ranked in the latest AVCA Poll.
Vassar College, the top-ranked team in the NVA/AVCA Division III Men’s Volleyball National poll, will host the six-team 2023 UVC Championship Tournament, with first round action beginning on Friday, April 14, the semifinals taking place on Saturday, April 15 and championship match on Sunday, April 16. The UVC Champion will receive an automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball Championship.
The Soaring Eagles have played in three of the six UVC regular season matches that went to five sets this season. Sophomore Alberto Mauricio ’25 leads all UVC student-athletes with 4.96 kills and 5.52 points per set this season. He is first nationally in kills per set and third among all Division III student-athletes in points per set. Max Cohen ’25 is fourth in the UVC, averaging 9.41 assists per set, while Alex Vega ’26 is second with 2.44 digs per set. Oscar Munoz Trinidad ’23 leads Elmira and is sixth in the league with a .334 hitting percentage.
The Engineers, who are slated to be Elmira’s opponent in the quarterfinal round, have put together quite the run to finish the season and solidify itself as the #4 seed in the tournament. After beginning 0-4 in conference play, MIT knocked off both Elmira and NYU on back-to-back days to close out its UVC schedule and earn its spot in the tournament. Elmira took on the…
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