Men's Volleyball Represented Well on UVC and Empire 8 All-Conference Awards

2018 May 23

In recognition of Elmira College's outstanding 2018 campaign, the men's volleyball team earned eight United Volleyball Conference (UVC) and Empire 8 All-Conference selections, as announced by the conference offices on Thursday afternoon.

Senior middle blocker Matthew Buffum '18 lead the list of EC's All-Conference members, as he was named to the First Team for both the UVC and E8. The pride of Chesterfield, Missouri, lead Elmira with career highs in blocks (132) and hitting percentage (.416), in addition to being second with 309 kills. Nationally, Buffum is 10th in blocks per set (1.04) and 11th in hitting percentage, both of which also rank fourth in the UVC heading into the conference tournament. Recognition from both conferences can be added to his list of accomplishments, as he has been named Player of the Week four times by the Empire 8, three times by the UVC, and once by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), joining Erik Griffin '16 as one of only two Elmira players to ever win national honors from the AVCA.

For his career, Buffum will go down as one of the greatest middles to ever don the Purple and Gold. The 6-foot-7-inch senior enters the weekend with 246 total blocks, the most ever by a Soaring Eagle. With 827 kills in his career, Buffum ranks fourth on Elmira's all-time leaderboard, the most by a middle. His 2018 campaign will also go down in single-season program history, as he broke the Elmira record for total blocks and is on pace to top his own hitting-percentage mark from last season.

Joining Buffum as All-Conference honorees in both leagues are juniors Ryan McDonough '19 and Jeremy Best '19, whose E8 Second Team and UVC Honorable Mention selections are the first of their careers. McDonough, a junior from Lindenhurst, New York, leads Elmira with 309 kills and 46 service aces, in addition to being second with a career-high 187 digs. The outside hitter was Elmira's most reliable attacker, as he posted 15 matches with double-digit kills, including three bouts with 19, the highest mark by a Soaring Eagle this year. With one more year remaining, McDonough stands to ascend further up some of EC's record books. His 120 career service aces are fourth all-time, while his 786 kills are right behind Buffum for fifth.

Best making his first All-Conference teams was just a matter of time for the talented junior setter. With a skilled attacking group around him, the Wexford, Pennsylvania, native had his most impressive season to date. Best more than doubled his career assists total with a whopping 1,234 so far this season, trailing just two outstanding years from former All-American Michael Vellutato '14 for the third-most in single-season program history. The 6-foot-2-inch setter also record new career highs in digs (135), blocks (80), kills (68) and aces (24). Best's 9.79 assists-per-set-average ranks third in the UVC and ninth in the country. With the outstanding campaign, the third-year Soaring Eagle moved into second place on Elmira's all-time assists leaderboard with 2,438.

The final Elmira player to honored today is junior right-side hitter Marques Speller '19, as the Bronx, New York, native was named EC's Sportsman of the Year. Annually, the Empire 8 recognizes one student-athlete from each institution for "Competing with Honor and Integrity," which the conference emphasizes as an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. Speller appeared in six matches in his first season at Elmira.

In just his second season at the helm, Head Coach Daniel Miranda was able to execute a nine-win turnaround and take his team to the UVC Tournament for the first time since 2015. In honor of his achievement, Miranda's peers voted him the 2018 UVC Coach of the Year. Predicted to finish seventh in the UVC preseason poll, the Amherst, New York, native surprised everyone by guiding EC to 20 regular-season wins on its way to earning the fifth seed in the league tournament. Highlighting the 2018 campaign are wins over No. 5 Dominican University (Ill.) and No. 14 SUNY New Paltz, in addition to being ranked as high as No. 13 on the AVCA Coaches Poll.

"In just his second season, Coach Miranda, has become a game-changer for our program," stated Elmira's Vice President of Athletics, Pat Thompson. "We are thrilled that his leadership and hard work has been recognized with this significant honor."