WHO: Women's Volleyball vs. La Salle
WHERE: RAC Gym, Fairfax, Va.
FINAL SCORE: Mason 3, La Salle 2
KEY PLAYERS: Morghan Martin – 22 kills, Sydney Fanoga and Tiffany Clarke – 13 kills; Jelena Cobanovic – 21 digs, Morghan Martin – 13 digs

Fairfax, Va. - George Mason University's women's volleyball team had a two-set deficit going into the 10-minute intermission in Friday's match against La Salle, but showed great character to orchestrate a dramatic comeback against the Explorers on Faculty Appreciation Night at the RAC.

MATCH NOTES

-Senior outside hitter Morghan Martin recorded match-high 22 kills over the course of the five-set match, while sophomore middle blocker and junior opposite hitter Tiffany Clarke also finished in double digits with ominous 13 kills each.

-Two seniors, libero Jelena Cobanovic and Martin, stood out in defense for Mason for the comeback with 21 and 13 digs, respectively, while freshmen Erica Partridge and Catie Espinoza nearly hit double digits with nine and eight to their names.

-Sophomore Bryanna Davis led four Explorers in double digits with 14 kills; Kelly Perillo and Madison Kuch had 12 each, Ashley Felton added 11.

-Freshman libero Jensen Sharrits had another strong performance, racking up 18 digs for her team.

-Martin's serving early in the match helped Mason build a 5-1 lead early on.

-Once La Salle came back on level terms at 6, the Explorers took complete control of the set and continued their run to accumulate a rather surprising 19-11 lead.

-The Patriots managed to shake off the shock and came within three at 24-21, but it was a little too late as La Salle took the set on the following play with a kill by Perillo.

-The two teams started the second set in a more even fashion and proceeded into mid-set in the same fashion, tied at 16.

-La Salle managed to gain some momentum with consecutive aces from freshman Taylor Hite, which became a part of a 4-0 run for the Explorers, the first of its nature for either team in the second set.

-The Patriots did not give up and a kill by Clarke tied the score at the best possible time, 24-24, denying the Explorers' set point.

-Mason had their chance to close the set after an attack error by Perillo gave them their first set point, but La Salle took a time out and made the most of it, winning three consecutive points to close the set 28-26 and to come within a set of its first A-10 win of the season.

-Playing for their life after the intermission, Mason started the third set with a 7-2 run thanks to kills from senior middle blocker Meredith Bush, Martin, Fanoga and Clarke, but once again La Salle tied it up at 9.

-Despite controlling the tempo of the set, the Patriots could not pull away safely and head coach Jackie Simpson called a timeout after another two-point lead was wasted to make the score 16-16.

-That timeout proved the breaking point since Mason came out of the huddle to start a 5-1 run, which gave them the momentum necessary to close the set at 25-20 with three consecutive kills and take the match into a fourth set.

-The fourth set started under Mason's control as well with the Patriots going up 4-0, but Simpson's players learned their lesson and did not let their foot off the gas this time.

-In fact, the team went on to completely dominate the set, picking up a double-digit lead at 18-8 with a kill by Clarke before taking the set with an even more resounding margin, 25-11.

-Consecutive kills from Martin started the decisive fifth set, but like they did many times before, the Explorers tied it up at 3-3 before taking their first lead of the set with a kill by Felton on the next play.

-Mason had a two-point advantage when the teams changed court sides a few minutes later, 8-6.

-The two teams entered the closing stage of the match all square at 10, but the Patriots demonstrated stronger nerves and ultimately came out as 15-11 winner of the set thanks to kills from Fanoga, Martin and redshirt senior middle blocker Lola Owokoniran, as well as two attack errors by the Explorers.

 STAT BREAKDOWN

-Mason recorded 64 kills on the night with a hitting percentage of .274; La Salle had only two fewer while hitting .242.

-The Explorers blocked better over the course of the contest, registering one solo block more than their opponent, 3-2, and two block assists more to take the blocking battle 9-7.

-La Salle had eight of the 10 total serve aces in the match, but registered 11 more serve errors than Mason, 16-5.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

“I am very proud of the team's gumption tonight. To have our backs against the wall and rise up to the challenge shows just how far this group has come.” – Mason's head coach Jackie Simpson

NEXT ON THE COURT

-Mason closes its season with a home match against Duquesne on Saturday at 7 p.m. The team's four senior will be honored prior to the first serve.