FAIRFAX, Virginia – The George Mason men's volleyball team beat Barton College 3-1 tonight at the RAC.

This match marks three wins in a row for the Patriots.  The Green and Gold won with set scores of: 25-14, 25-27, 25-23, and 25-13.  With tonight's win, the Patriots move to 3-2 on the season, while the Bulldogs drop to 2-5.

The Patriots shot out to a quick start in the first set; taking the lead early, 11-6. George Mason went on a run shortly after that, scoring five points in a row thanks in part to three service aces from Jack Wilson.  The Patriots went on to win the first set easily after that 25-14.

The second set was an extremely close set.  The largest lead throughout this set was only three points.  After going back and forth for the entire set, Barton ended up winning 27-25 after two attack errors in a row by Mason. 

The third set was another very tight set.  Barton jumped out to a quick lead, 5-1.  However, Mason came storming back to eventually take the lead 7-6 after kills by Paco Velez and Radoslav Popov.  This set remained very close until the end when the Hunter Stevens got a kill to end it 25-23.

The Green and Gold went on to win the fourth and final set easily, 25-13.  Paco Velez led the Patriots in this set with six total kills.  However, it was Jack Wilson who had the match-winning kill, assisted by senior, Joe Heim.

Jack Wilson had a match-best 14 kills, while Paco Velez also finished in double figure kills (11).  Jackson Carr dished out a match-high 42 total assists and added eight digs on defense.

Barton was led by Chad Stanback Jr., who had a team-best 13 kills.  Meanwhile, Federico Pagliara dished out a total of 29 assists.

George Mason will host the University of Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras on Saturday, February 1 at 7:00 p.m. at the RAC.  The Green and Gold are coming off two-home wins in a row against UPRRP and Barton College.