WHO: Women's Volleyball at Saint Louis
WHERE: Chaifetz Pavillion, Saint Louis, Mo.
FINAL SCORE: Saint Louis 3, Mason 1
KEY PLAYERS: Morghan Martin – 14 kills, Tiffany Clarke – 12 kills; Jelena Cobanovic – 11 digs

Saint Louis, Mo. – The George Mason University women's volleyball team and Saint Louis went into the intermission tied at set a piece, but the Billikens demonstrated class after the break to win consecutive sets and sweep the season series against the Patriots.  

MATCH NOTES

-Three Mason carried the majority of the weight in attack on the night and finished in double digits –  senior outside hitter led the team with 14 kills, junior opposite hitter Tiffany Clarke had 12 and sophomore middle blocker Sydney Fanoga had 11.

-Senior libero Jelena Cobanovic was the only player who finished with double-digit digs – 11, but three more players had at least five in the match – freshman Catie Espinoza outside hitter (seven), junior setter Caitlyn Hipsher (six) and Martin (five).

-Junior Danielle Rygelski had match-high 16 kills and 12 digs for the Billikens, followed by senior Megan Gilbert with 12 kills and sophomore Mackenzie Long with 11 digs.

-Prior to Martin and sophomore middle blocker Sydney Fanoga getting Mason on the board with consecutive kills, the Billikens had accumulated an early 5-0 lead in the first set.

-A kill by junior Danielle Rygelski and three straight serve aces by Mackenzie Long – two off the tape – quickly killed the Patriots' momentum and picked up a seven-point lead for the Billikens, 9-2.

-Saint Louis' dominance in the set continued, and so did the growth of the lead, which reached nine at 14-5, forcing Mason's head coach Jackie Simpson to call her second and final timeout in the set.

-It seemed to be exactly what the Patriots needed, since they scored three consecutive points coming out of the huddle through kills by junior opposite hitter Tiffany Clarke and senior middle blocker Meredith Bush and a Saint Louis attack error between them.

-The Billikens responded appropriately with a 4-0 run later in the set to extend their lead to double digits at 20-10.

-Mason outscored its opponent for the remainder of the set but never came closer than within seven before the Billikens closed the set at 25-17.

-After an even start to the second set, Saint Louis was again the first team to go on a run and accumulated a three-point run at 7-4.

-Mason refused to go away and gradually decreased the Billikens' advantage, eventually coming on level terms at 8 with a kill by Clarke.

-Neither team could pull away in the following minutes until a kill by Martin started a 3-0 run by Mason that allowed the Patriots to pick up their largest lead of the match up to that point at 15-12.

-Saint Louis quickly came back within a point with a serve ace by Rygelski, but right after that the Patriots regained a two-point lead at 16-14 by winning the longest rally of the match with a kill by Martin.

-The key play had an effect on the team's momentum and Mason won four of the following six points to enter the closing stage of the set with a four-point lead, 20-16.

-An error by the Billikens gave the Patriots their largest lead at 23-17 and they comfortably tied the match at one set a piece by closing the second set at 25-18.

-Mason found themselves in a trailing position early in the third set after Saint Louis won the first three points, but the Patriots managed to match the run and tied it up at 4 with a serve ace by Fanoga.

-An even better run by the Billikens followed and they forced Simpson's first timeout after the intermission at 8-4.

-Saint Louis maintained the margin until 14-10 later in the set, but then three kills by Mason – courtesy of Fanoga, Clarke and Martin – and an attack error by Saint Louis tied the score in mid-set – 14-14.

-The Billikens, however, did not allow Mason to pick up their first lead of the set and rather went on a 8-2 run that was crucial to the final outcome of the set, which finished with the same six-point margin – 25-19 – in favor of Saint Louis.

-Carrying the momentum into the fourth set, Saint Louis enjoyed its best start and grabbed a double-digit advantage at 14-4 with a kill by Rygelski.

-That lead grew to 13 on five occasions before the Billikens closed the set and match at 25-12 with another kill by their best attacker.

STAT BREAKDOWN

-Mason registered 48 kills on their 111 attack attempts for a hitting percentage of .234, while Saint Louis put away 55 of 116 attacks, hitting .336 in the match.

-The Billikens dominated the battle at the net, finishing with 11.5 team blocks as opposed to the Patriots' three blocks.

-The Patriots won the tight digging battle 37-32, while the Billikens demonstrated super serving, registering seven of the 10 service aces in the match.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

"We showed a great fight in the second set. We are still working on sustaining that level of play for a longer period of time. I saw glimpses of really great play and we are only going to keep getting better." - Mason's head coach Jackie Simpson

NEXT ON THE PITCH

Mason takes on newly crowned regular season champion Dayton on Sunday at 1 p.m. in its final road match of the season.