Courtesy of Teodor Handarov 

Men's volleyball returns to winning ways with a sweep over Lees-McRae

FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's volleyball team won its season home opener in a most dominating fashion, by sweeping Lees-McRae College 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-17) in the RAC on Friday evening.

Coach Fred Chao gave 11 players time on the court against the Bobcats (1-8) and eight of them registered at least two kills on the night. Redshirt junior Paco Velez finished with a match-high 10 kills while the Patriots (3-8) attacked nearly .500 as a team on the night and committed only six attacking errors. Velez also registered seven of Mason's eight service aces of the match. The Bobcats were led by John Sobel; who also finished with 10 kills. Mason's freshman setter Brian Negron finished the night with 31 assists, while Lees-McRae combined for a total of 20.

Mason set the tempo for the first set with an early 3-0 run on Velez's serving sequence. The Patriots retained their three-point lead as the teams exchanged points for the following minutes, but the Bobcats managed to cut it to just one at 9-8 by capitalizing on several Mason errors. The Patriots responded quickly with a 6-1 run and forced the Bobcats into a timeout at 15-9. The timeout did not help Lees-McRae in halting the momentum of the Patriots, whose lead only grew from that point on. Mason won four consecutive points at the end of the set to close the set at 25-14.

The Bobcats took the lead on five occasions early in the second set, but could not pull away. On the other hand, once the Patriots took their first lead on a kill from junior Alex Frapech at 6-5, they never dropped it. Two consecutive aces by Velez gave Mason a five-point lead at 12-7 and forced a timeout from the visiting team. The Bobcats came out of the huddle strong and won three consecutive points after the restart to cut Mason's lead to two. They made several pushes to come back in the set but the Patriots withstood the pressure. Three kills by sophomore Ryan Rosenmeier and one from Frapech helped Mason to accumulate a comfortable four-point lead as the teams were entering the closing stages of the set. The Patriots closed the set with a 5-0 run on Velez's serving sequence, which was topped with two consecutive aces for the final score of 25-16.

Three lead changes and six tied scores marked the beginning of the third set and nothing separated the two teams after the first 12 plays – 6-6. It was at that point when Mason's attack began to click again after a slow start to the set and the Patriots went on a crucial 6-2 run that was decisive to the outcome of the set. Lees-McRae called a timeout at 12-8, but Mason's dominance continued – the Patriots won seven of the following 10 points to build a mounting eight-point lead at 19-11. They never let their foot off the gas and their lead reached nine on several occasions late on before settling the set with an eight-point margin at 25-17.

The match against the Bobcats would be the only one for the Patriots this weekend and they have a full week to prepare for their second Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association double-header next weekend, when they travel to Princeton University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.