WHO: Women's Volleyball at Maryland-Eastern Shore
WHERE: William P. Hytche Athletic Center, Princess Anne, Md.
FINAL SCORE: Mason 3, Maryland-Eastern Shore 1
KEY PLAYERS: Morghan Martin – 17 kills, Jelena Cobanovic – 24 digs, Caitlyn Hipsher – 45 assists

Princess Anne, Md. – George Mason University's women's volleyball team faced tough opposition on Tuesday, but managed to pull off a four-set win against Maryland-Eastern Shore in its last non-conference match of the season.

After the match, the Patriots expressed support for Craig Buck, a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. men's volleyball team who is recovering from a biking accident that took place Oct. 5, by participating in the "Thumbs up for Buck" campaign that has spread across social media.

MATCH NOTES

-Senior Morghan Martin was once again Mason's top attacker with 17 kills, while in-form sophomore middle blocker Sydney Fanoga and redshirt senior middle blocker Lola Owokoniran helped a great deal with 13 and 10, respectively.

-Senior libero Jelena Cobanovic had another stellar night in defense and finished with 24 digs, the most recorded by her in a four-set match. Junior setter Caitlyn Hipsher (11) and freshmen Catie Espinoza and Erica Partridge (both with 10) also finished in double digits.

-Freshman duo Zuzana Ondruskova and Lucia Babic led the Hawks offensively with 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Ondruskova stood out with her defensive efforts as well, finishing with team-high 16 digs, joined by junior Haley Robinson (14 digs) in double digits.

-Mason capitalized on three serve errors by the Hawks to build an early 5-2 advantage, but Maryland-Eastern Shore responded with three consecutive points.

-The Hawks' momentum allowed them to build a two-point lead at 8-6 and to force a timeout by Mason's head coach Jackie Simpson.

-The lead grew to three at 11-8 but the Patriots tied it in style – with an ace – through Hipsher, at 11-11.

-With the regained momentum, Mason went on a 5-2 run that featured two additional aces, both by Fanoga, to grab a 16-13 lead and force the Hawks' first timeout of the match.  

-After the timeout, Mason did not allow their opponents to get within fewer than two points and dominated the rest of the set to close it with a Fanoga kill for their highest lead at 25-17.

-The dynamic early in the second set was drastically different, with the Hawks grabbing an early 4-1 lead and forcing the Patriots to call a timeout.

-Maryland-Eastern Shore continued to be the better team after the team came out of the huddle and increased their lead to 8-4 on a kill by Babic.

-Little by little, the Patriots crept back into the set and a block-out by Fanoga tied the score at 10.

-The teams switched traded two-point leads several time in the course of the set but entered the final stage of the second set all square at 21.

-Two aces by freshman Marta Klafuric sparked a late 4-1 run by Maryland-Eastern Shore, which was all they needed to close the second set 25-22.

-Mason was the first set to lead by two in the third set, but the Patriots were also first to call a timeout after the Hawks made a run to grab a 7-5 lead.

-Incredible digging by Mason's defenders started a 4-0 run that forced a Hawk timeout at 9-7.

-Coming off a Maryland-Eastern Shore timeout, the Patriots went on a 5-0 run on Cobanovic's serving sequence to close the third set 25-18.

-After falling behind 4-2 early in the fourth set, Mason managed to tie the score at 6 and even built a two-point lead at 8-6 with consecutive aces from Partridge.

-Despite the Hawks coming back on level terms at 8, the Patriots did not lose the momentum and gained a three-point lead at 14-11.

-An ace by senior outside hitter Morghan Martin and a block by Fanoga increased Mason's lead to five at 17-12 later on, forcing Maryland-Eastern Shore's second timeout of the fourth set.

-Three consecutive points by the Hawks after the timeout forced coach Simpson to gather the Patriots in a huddle with the lead only two at 18-16.

-Despite a second Mason timeout in quick succession, the Hawks managed to tie the score at 20 with a kill by Ondruskova.

-Four kills by Martin, however, helped Mason outlast the Hawks in the final moments of the fourth set and close it and the match at 25-23.

 STAT BREAKDOWN

-Mason had 57 kills on the night for a team hitting percentage of .241 and Maryland-Eastern Shore recorded 45 kills while hitting .219.

-The Patriots took home the serving bragging rights by recording 10 aces in the match, three more than their opponent.

-The battle at the net was ruthless – the Patriots had 16 block assists and one solo block credited to Fanoga; Maryland-Eastern Shore had 14 block assists and one solo block through Klafuric.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

“I was really happy to see our team stay strong against a team which has been winning a lot of matches this season. Their crowd was loud and hostile, I was proud that our team wasn't affected by it. This match was great preparation going into one of the toughest segments of our A-10 schedule this season.” – Mason head coach Jackie Simpson

NEXT ON THE COURT

-Mason returns to Atlantic 10 Conference competition on Saturday at 1 p.m., when it hosts George Washington at the RAC in another edition of the Revolutionary Rivalry.