FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason University's eleventh-ranked men's volleyball team came within two points of sweeping No. 9 Loyola University Chicago in front of 602 people in the RAC Gym on Saturday night, but the 2015 national champion clawed its way to winning three consecutive sets to orchestrate the heartbreaking comeback.

MATCH NOTES

-Just like Friday night, redshirt senior opposite hitter Jack Wilson (match-high 18 kills, 2 service aces, 2 blocks) and senior outside hitter Radoslav Popov (11 kills, 1 ace, 2 blocks) led Mason in attack and combined for more than half of the team's 57 kills, but four additional Patriots had at least five kills against the Ramblers.

-Junior setter Brian Negron (43 assists, 5 kills) and redshirt sophomore middle blocker Langston Payne (6 kills, 1 block), who came in off the bench in the third set, were Mason's most offensively efficient players in the contest, hitting .714 and .625, respectively. Payne and Negron committed only one error between the two of them on a combined total of 15 swings.
-Mason limited Loyola to .040 combined hitting over the course of the first two sets by picking up 5.5 team blocks and 17 digs while also forcing 14 attack errors.

-Patriots head coach Jay Hosack stuck to his two-libero system from Friday with senior Johnny Gomez (11 digs, 1 assist) and sophomore Seth Blevins (7 digs) in the lineup from the start. As a result the third libero, sophomore Will Calaman got his first taste of action this season, had to play out of position. Interestingly, the least tall player on Mason's roster had to make a block attempt while replacing redshirt senior middle blocker Graham Gresham (8 kills, .250 hitting, match-high 6 blocks) in the second set, but the Patriots still won the point as an opponent skied the ball above Calaman's hands.

-Negron and Blevins exchanged roles at times during the match with the setter picking up seven digs while the libero registered career-high four assists, most by a non-setter in the contest.

-Loyola also had a balanced offensive performance in which the Ramblers were led by All-American middle blocker Jeff Jendryk (11 kills, .588 hitting, 6 blocks). Jendryk also had one of his team's 11 aces and picked up Loyola's only solo block on the night.

HOW IT HAPPENED

-After a short ceremony celebrating the drop of Mason's 2016 EIVA championship banner, the match began in a nervy manner with each team picking up a service error. Mason's next two serving sequences – from sophomore outside hitter Kyle Barnes (9 kills, 5 digs, 2 blocks) and redshirt sophomore middle blocker Garrett Kollar (2 aces, 2 blocks) – were much more successful and propelled the Patriots to an early 10-2 lead. Despite the Ramblers using both of their timeouts, the lead grew to nine at 15-6, but Ben Plaisted (7 kills, 1 ace, 2 blocks) got Loyola going from the service line and sparked a 7-1 run for his team that got them within three in mid-set, 16-13. The Ramblers eventually came back to level terms at 19 all with an ace by Dane Leclair (41 assists, 3 aces, 8 digs), but Wilson picked up three kills in a row to return the momentum on Mason's side of the net, 22-19. Loyola made another attempt to turn things around and fought valiantly until the end, but successful sideout plays by Barnes and Popov gave the Patriots a set lead, 25-23.

-The first lead change of the contest came when Will Tischler (4 kills, 2 aces) aced to put Loyola up 5-4 in a contested second set. The first significant run was in favor of Mason, however, when Popov and Wilson scored three unanswered points to get the Patriots in double digits with a three-point advantage, 11-8. Loyola called a timeout right away, but when play resumed the Patriots showed good composure and held firmly to their lead. Loyola needed a second timeout, but it tied the score at 19-19 with consecutive kills from Plaisted. Mason dominated the remainder of the set and gave up only one additional point in the set – which came off a service error – before an attack error by Collin Mahan (6 kills, 9 digs) closed it at 25-20 and doubled the Patriots' lead in the match.

-The Ramblers jumped out to a better start in the third set but Mason tied the score and even took the lead with an ace by Popov before an attack error by Plaisted doubled the advantage on the following play, 8-6. Jendryk then sparked a 4-0 run by Loyola and forced Hosack to call the first timeout of the set at 11-9. Two points after the timeout the score was tied again and the teams progressed by exchanging points until mid-set, 15-15. Loyola made its first statement that it's still very much in the match with a run on Plaisted's serving sequence that put the Ramblers ahead by three, 18-15. The lead grew to four at 21-17, but Mason won four of the next five points and forced their opponent to call a timeout while still in the lead 22-21. Play resumed in the best way for the Patriots as another kill by Payne tied the score, but consecutive Loyola kills from Paul Narup (9 kills, 1 ace, 3 blocks) and Cole Murray (8 kills, 2 aces, 5 digs) gave the Ramblers a double set point. After Wilson canceled the first of them, setter Leclair trusted Narup's hands to put Loyola on the board, but Gresham rejected the effort at the net and sent the set into extra points, 24 all. Coming out of the resulting timeout, Loyola scored the needed consecutive points with kills by Narup and Murray and won the set 26-24 to stay in the match.

-The fourth set was wild and unpredictable from the start and featured 10 lead changes and 16 tied scores. Loyola had led by as many as three early on and Mason had a two-point lead when another solo stuff by Gresham forced Jendryk's only attack error in the match at 16-14, but neither team could hold its advantage and ultimately they were all square at 20-20 and with a timeout left apiece. It was Hosack who made use of his first after an ace by Mahan made it 23-22 Loyola, but two points later the teams were back in their huddles after a kill by Wilson and an attack error by Murray had granted the Patriots their first and only match point at 24-23. Murray redeemed himself with a kill immediately after the restart, but it was Loyola's substitute Jake Freeman (2 digs) who seasled the set with his unorthodox serve that led to consecutive Mason errors, 26-24.

-The Patriots quickly recovered from a poor start to the decisive fifth set and took their first lead at 4-3 when Gresham and Negron blocked Cole. The emphatic nature of the point gave Mason enough momentum to stay in control until the switch, which came after a Wilson kill made it 8-7. The Patriots continued looking the better of the two teams and went into double digits with a two-point advantage courtesy of a Negron kill. Quick thinking by Gresham on an overpass drew his team even closer to the victory at 12-10, but a few unforced errors by the Patriots late on and a couple of aces by the Ramblers sparked the final run with which Loyola won the set 15-13 to complete the comeback.

NEXT ON THE COURT

Mason will be on the road for the next month, starting with a trip to Indiana for matches against No. 13 Ball State and Fort Wayne on Thursday and Friday, respectively.