FAIRFAX, Virginia – The George Mason men's volleyball team falls to Ohio State in four sets. Ohio State won with set scores of 25-17, 22-25, 25-23, and 25-23.  With tonight's loss, the Patriots move to 13-12 on the season, while Ohio State improves their record to 11-14.

The Patriots got out to a slow start in the first set, surrendering seven out of the first nine points.  The Patriots got back within three points after a Jonathan Lutz kill.  However, Ohio State never gave up the lead and eventually went on to win the set 25-17.

The Patriots got off to a much better start in the second set and took a 9-5 lead after a Buckeye attack error.  Lutz, Radoslav Popov, and Paco Velez all played extremely well in the second set, getting four kills each.  The Green and Gold kept in control of the second set and eventually had game point at 24-22.  At game point, Joe Heim set up Lutz for the set-winning kill.

The third set was the most closely-contested game of the match.  This set included 10 tie scores and two lead changes.  An Ohio State attack error gave Mason a 12-9 lead, forcing a timeout.  The Patriots still had the lead at 22-20, forcing another Buckeye timeout.  After this timeout, Ohio State won five out of the next six points to win the set at 25-23.

The fourth and final set was another closely-fought game.  This set included six ties and three lead changes.  The Patriots got off to a slow start, going down 12-9 early on.  However, the Patriots would eventually come back and take the lead at 16-15.  The Buckeyes stopped the Patriot comeback bid short, and went on to win the set and the match 25-23.  Andrew Lutz had a huge set, contributing nine kills for the Buckeyes.

Paco Velez led the Patriots on offense with 15 kills on the night.  Radoslav Popov also had double digit kills, finishing with 11.  Popov and Velez also contributed on defense with seven digs each.  Joe Heim dished out a team-high 37 assists. Meanwhile, Dave Lucas and Jonathan Lutz added eight digs on defense to lead the Green and Gold.

The Buckeyes were led by Andrew Lutz, who finished with a match-high 19 kills.  Christy Blough also dished out a match-best 48 assists.  Meanwhile, Michael Piechowski finished with a match-best 13 digs to lead Ohio State on defense.

Up Next: The Patriots wrap up the regular season with two matches in a row against EIVA opponent Princeton.  The first match will be in Fairfax on Friday, April 11 and the second will be at Princeton on Friday April 18.  Both matches will start at 7:00 p.m.