Courtesy of Teodor Handarov 

FAIRFIELD, CT – The George Mason men's volleyball team completed a memorable comeback and defeated Sacred Heart University in five sets (17-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-10, 15-12) in Fairfield, Ct. on Saturday afternoon. 

Redshirt sophomore Jack Wilson finished with a team-high 24 kills for Mason, while senior Hunter Stevens recorded 10 without making any attacking errors. Sophomore Christian Malias, who played as libero for the first two sets, led the Patriots with 11 digs, followed by classmate Radoslav Popov with 10. Senior Enzo Mackenzie had an impressive Senior Night for the Pioneers, leading the team with 17 kills, while Christopher DeLucie accumulated a team-high 10 digs.

The Pioneers (12-12, 3-8 EIVA) took an early 4-2 lead in the first set after an attack error by the Patriots (12-12, 5-5 EIVA). Freshman setter Brian Negron cut that lead in half with a block at 5-4, but Sacred Heart went on to win the following three points and accumulate a four-point lead. Although Mason fought to get back in the game, the lead continued to grow and the Patriots had to call consecutive timeouts at 14-9 and 20-14. They were unable to kill the momentum of the Pioneers, however, who went on gather a double-digit lead at 24-14 before closing the set at 25-17.

A kill by Negron gave Mason a 3-2 lead in the second set, but the Pioneers went on to win the next five points to get in pole position early in the set. The lead extended to six at 13-7 to force another Mason timeout. Later, when trailing 17-11, the Patriots made a push to get back in the set and cut the lead in half by going on a 3-0 run. Mason came within two with a kill by Wilson at 20-18, but the Pioneers enjoyed a better end to the set and won five of the last six points for the final 25-19. 

In the intermission before the third set, coach Chao made two tactical changes by putting in redshirt freshman Weston Barnes at the libero position and switching Malias to an outside hitter, in place of redshirt junior Paco Velez. The effect was immediate and Sacred Heart could not find a response to the new Mason game plan. Malias got his first of eight kills for 4-1 and by the time the Patriots hit the double-digit mark on a block-out by Wilson, they already had an eight-point lead — 10-2. The lead reached 11 at 16-5 on an attack error by Sacred Heart, but the Pioneers made up for it with a 5-0 run. Although a kill by Malias and two consecutive kills by Wilson reestablished a comfortable nine-point lead for the Patriots at 20-11, the Pioneers went on a 9-3 run to come within three at 23-20. Coach Chao was not done with his tactical tricks, however, and called a double timeout, which threw the Pioneers off their game and allowed the Patriots to pull one set back with the final 25-20.

It was all Mason in the fourth set. The Patriots again had an eight-point lead at 10-2 thanks to two consecutive kills by Wilson, but this time around they did not let their foot off the gas. A block by sophomore Graham Gresham and a kill by Malias gave the Patriots two 15-point leads — at 21-6 and 24-9, respectively — an advantage that was retained for the final score 25-10. 

The momentum helped Mason enjoy a better start to the deciding fifth set, which was materialized into a 5-1 lead on another block by Gresham and resulted in a Sacred Heart timeout. When the teams switched sides, Mason still had an 8-6 advantage, but the Pioneers tied the score at 8 shortly after. However, a kill and block-out by Wilson immediately restored the Patriots two point lead. Even though Sacred Heart took two timeouts in quick succession, it was Mason who celebrated the hard-fought win moments later at 15-12 on an attack error by the Pioneers.

The Patriots finish their regular EIVA season next weekend with a home double-header against Princeton and NJIT.