Box Score WHO: Women's Volleyball at VCU
WHERE: Richmond, Va.
FINAL SCORE: Mason 3, VCU 1
KEY PLAYERS: Morghan Martin – 15 kills, three serve aces, Erica Partridge – 14 digs
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1st
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2nd
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3rd
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4th
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TOTAL
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VCU (6-12, 0-4 A-10)
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25
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19
|
21
|
23
|
1
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|
George Mason (6-11, 1-2 A-10)
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18
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25
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25
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25
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3
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Richmond, Va. – George Mason University's women's volleyball team lost the first set, but then orchestrated an impressive comeback at VCU on Sunday afternoon to end a six-game skid and pick up its first Atlantic 10 Conference win of the season.
MATCH NOTES
-Senior Morghan Martin and sophomore Jordan Glass finished with double digits in kills for Mason with 15 and 11, respectively.
-Freshman Erica Partridge and senior Jelena Cobanovic led the Patriots with 14 digs and 12 digs, respectively, but four additional players recorded at least five digs for the incredible team defensive performance for head coach Jackie Simpson's team.
-VCU's freshman Sahbria McLetchie registered match-high 17 kills, with sophomore Jane Feddersen (12 kills) and senior Kalah Jones (11 kills) also getting into double digits, but that was not enough for the Rams to overcome the Patriots in their Siegel Center.
-VCU managed to get ahead at 4-2 at the beginning of the opening set, but a kill by redshirt senior Lola Owokoniran, followed by two consecutive service aces from Martin put Mason in the lead.
-The Rams managed to inflict the first serious blow of the set by scoring nine unanswered points on senior Samantha Blaze's serving sequence to get a 14-6 advantage.
-The eight-point advantage held up until 16-8, when Mason went on a 7-0 run with two kills from Martin and five Ram errors to come within one, 16-15.
-Two consecutive points gave VCU a three-point advantage at 18-15, forcing Coach Simpson into a timeout.
-The Patriots came within two at 19-17, but the Rams went on a 6-1 run to close the set in their favor, 25-18.
-Mason enjoyed a great start to the second set and accumulated a 7-2 advantage, largely due to impressive serving from freshman Montana Green and sophomore Sydney Fanoga.
-This allowed the Patriots to get in control of the set and win it 25-19 without letting the Rams come on level terms while Mason's lead reached its highest point at eight at 21-13.
-The beginning of the third set formed a strong contrast with the second, because both teams – now tied at one set a piece – wanted to get ahead.
-The teams were all square at 8 when the Rams showed their intention to win the set with a 4-0 run with the help of three consecutive kills by McLetchie.
-Without the need for a timeout, the Patriots regained their composure and quickly tied the set at 13-13.
-From that moment on neither team could get ahead by more than two points and the teams entered the final stages of the set all square at 20.
-The Patriots had the last word in deciding the set and outscored the Rams 5-1 for its remainder to win it 25-21, getting themselves in a set-leading situation for the first time since Sept. 12.
-VCU came out ready to fight for a fifth set in the beginning of the fourth and accumulated a seven-point advantage at 10-3.
-Mason reduced the deficit to three with a 4-0 run thanks to an ace by Glass, two kills by Fanoga, and one by Green.
-The Patriots got within one at 13-12 with a kill by Martin, but had to wait for Martin's third ace of the match to draw level at 15-15.
-The set went down to the wire later on with nothing to separate the teams at 22-22, but the Patriots won the match after winning three of the last four plays with two kills by Martin and an ace by Green.
STAT BREAKDOWN
-Despite losing, VCU recorded more kills than Mason, 52-47, but the Patriots' team hitting percentage was higher - .227 in comparison to the Rams' .183 hitting percentage.
-The Rams also held a slight advantage in digging, 62-57, while the teams scored eight serving aces a piece.
-Mason came out of the match with a slight advantage in both solo blocks – 3-2 – and block assists – 12-8.
POST-MATCH QUOTES
“I am really proud of our team today. This match was a gritty battle for every point. Lola has been a great leader for us in terms of showing maturity through point runs and making big plays at crucial times. It was great to see the whole team bounce back from a tough loss Friday night.” – Head coach Jackie Simpson
NEXT ON THE COURT
Mason will try to build on the momentum gained from the rivalry win in their first home A-10 doubleheader against Dayton and St. Louis next weekend. The match against the Flyers starts at 7 p.m. on Friday.
