No. 9 Elmira Tops Men's Volleyball

ERIE, Pa. – Erik Griffin knocked down a game-high 20 kills for a .486 hitting percentage to lead No. 9 Elmira men's volleyball team past Penn State Behrend 3-1 in United Volleyball Conference (UVC) action on Wednesday afternoon.

The Soaring Eagles (16-6, 7-3 UVC) won the first two sets 25-16, 25-19 before the Lions (11-7, 5-6 UVC) took the third game, 25-20. Elmira tallied 12 kills as a team and got five from Griffin to get a 25-13 decision in the fourth set for the match.

Nathan Steele (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) registered a team-best 15 kills and Ty Sheehan (Cochranton, PA/Cochranton) had a game-high 14 digs.

Michael Vellutato had a double-double with 50 assists and 10 digs, while Dylan Kuhn and Ryan Gelenitis also posted double-digit kills for the Soaring Eagles. Kuhn had four kills in each of the first two sets, hitting 1.000 in the opening game and only missing one attack in the second. Elmira tallied 18 kills in the first set and then forced eight errors in the second to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Behrend trailed early in the third set, but used a 12-4 run to take a 20-17 lead that would not relinquish. Down 16-14, Sheehan and Steele each tallied three kills and Colin Ingram (Hilliard, OH/Hilliard Darby) got an ace for the three-point edge. Four errors by Elmira and a final kill from Steele spearheaded the Lions comeback attempt.

The Soaring Eagles hit .323 in the fourth set, jumping out to a 14-6 lead and holding on for the victory.

Derek Polishen (Plum, PA/Plum) added 10 digs and Ingram dished out 20 assists.

Behrend returns to action Thursday, March 27 at Medaille. Match begins at 7 p.m.