WHO: Men's Volleyball at Charleston (W.V.)
WHERE: Charleston Catholic Athletic Complex, Charleston, W.V.
FINAL SCORE: Mason 3, UCWV 0
KEY PLAYERS: Graham Gresham – 10 kills; Paco Velez – 10 kills; Christian Malias – 8 digs; Johnny Gomez – 8 digs

Charleston, W.V. – George Mason University's men's volleyball team earned its first win under head coach Jay Hosack on Saturday, when the Patriots swept Charleston (W.V) on the road in their Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association opener.

MATCH NOTES

-Redshirt senior opposite hitter Paco Velez and redshirt junior middle blocker Graham Gresham had match-high performances in attack with 10 kills apiece; two other Patriots, junior libero Johnny Gomez and junior outside hitter Christian Malias, were tied for the highest number of digs with 8 each.

-Eugene Stuart led the Golden Eagles with 8 kills, while three UCWV players had 4 apiece – Darrin De Pellegrini, Rajahl Moxey and Ryan Santos.

-In a well-contested beginning of the match, Gresham gave Mason its first lead with a block for 3-2, but the Golden Eagles capitalized on consecutive Patriot errors to become the first to lead by two at 6-4.

-UCWV's lead reached four points on several occasions as the teams approached mid-set, 13-9. A couple of minutes of effective side-out play by both teams allowed the Golden Eagles to retain their lead at 17-13, but Mason went on a 3-0 run during redshirt senior Dom Edgley's serving sequence to come within one, 17-16.

-It was Edgley's solo block later in the set that brought the Patriots on level terms at 21 all, shortly before Velez put the Patriots back in the lead with a kill at 22-21. The Golden Eagles came back and tied the score at 23, but a kill by freshman outside hitter Kyle Barnes and an error by UCWV closed the tough first set in Mason's favor, 25-23.

-Two successful attacks by Moxey put UCWV up by two early in the second set, but a kill and block by Velez tied the score at 5-5. The Golden Eagles did not drop the momentum, however, and an ace by Stuart Eugene gave them their largest lead of the set at 10-6 and forced a timeout by Mason.

-The Patriots came out of the huddle more aggressive and immediately tied the score with a 4-0 run. A kill by Malias put Mason in front at 14-13, but the lead did not last long as UCWV went on a 4-1 run to take a two-point lead, 17-15.

-A Velez kill was followed by an ace of his to tie the score at 17. The score was tied two more times, but with the teams tied at 19, Mason went on a decisive 5-0 run with the help of effective blocking and tough serving by Barnes, thanks to which the Patriots closed the second set 25-20.

-Freshman middle blocker Bryant Ekstein's serving sequence helped Mason to a 2-0 lead and set the tone for the beginning of the third set, but the Golden Eagles also managed consecutive points later on to tie the score in the set at 5. Numerous serve errors by each team advanced the score without much playing and Mason called a timeout at 9-9.

-Coach Hosack's instructions did not work immediately and UCWV took two consecutive points after the timeout to take an 11-9 lead, but then the Patriots started clicking in attack and went on a 4-0 run, rounded off with two straight kills by Barnes. Mason's two-point lead stood until 15-13, when a long rally was finished off with success for the Patriots to give them their first three-point lead of the set at 16-13. Mason's momentum was boosted with an ace by Velez on the following play, which forced a UCWV timeout. The Golden Eagles kept fighting and came within two, but another mini-run by Mason made the lead five at 22-17, this time on a kill by Velez.

-UCWV team came back within one at 23-22, but two consecutive attacks by Malias led to Mason points which closed the third and final set at 25-22 for the Patriots' first win of the season, which sent them atop of EIVA.

STAT BREAKDOWN

-Mason's attack was the better of the two on the night and the Patriots registered 36 kills on a .300 hitting performance, while UCWV hit .130 as a team and recorded 23 kills.

-UCWV served slightly better and recorded 6 aces despite committing 15 errors; Mason had 4 aces and committed 16 errors.

-The teams split the 10 team blocks in the match at 5 apiece.

-The Patriots outdug the Golden Eagles 24-16.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

"I am proud of my guys, they stayed resilient tonight, they stayed composed, and they kept pressing forward and never got out of sorts."

"Hats off to Charleston, they came out fired up like we knew they would, this was their home crowd and first real EIVA match. We knew they were going to come in aggressive, and they took it to us." - Mason's head coach Jay Hosack

NEXT ON THE COURT

The Patriots will have a week off from competition and will return to RAC on Jan. 29 to resume their non-conference schedule against IPFW. First serve will be at 7 p.m.