Fairfax, Va. - A year and two days ago, in much less snow and with a somewhat different roster, Mason traveled to then-newly formed program Charleston (W.V.) for a non-conference matchup that could not be better timed for the Patriots, who were coming off a heartbreaking defeat to Ohio State the night before to mark a 0-5 start to the season. Mason defeated the Golden Eagles in straight sets for its first of 15 wins in 2015, which had the team advance all the way to the EIVA final.
With all the changes made in the offseason, that match looked like forever ago when Mason visited the Golden Eagles again the Saturday before the last for another match against Michael Crane's team. Unavoidably, there were some interesting parallels to the contest from a year ago: spirits in Mason's camp were similar due to the 0-4 start to the season after another, less glamorous loss to the Buckeyes the previous night; Charleston (W.V.) was also struggling early in the season; and, most obviously, the Patriots swept the Golden Eagles just like they did on Jan. 24, 2015…
The fact is, however, these matches were like night and day – take it from one of the few people associated with Mason MVB who were present at both contests. Last year, the Golden Eagles played their matches in the obsolete Eddie King Gym, a facility which also hosted the men's and women's basketball teams at the time and was clearly losing its battle against time. Since then, the university has begun the construction process of a modern facility, the Sports & Fitness Center and as a result this time around Charleston hosted Mason off campus, in a total gem of an arena at Charleston Catholic High School. The place was perfect for the historic nature of the contest, Charleston's first ever EIVA conference match since becoming a member last February. As if additional motivation was needed, the Golden Eagles, who had just come back from a trip to the West Coast, where they faced solid opposition, were playing their first match in front of their own fans.
Two additional things that I remember vividly about Charleston last year were the team's uniforms, which looked more like practice tees than match gear, and the unbreakable spirit with which every player on the team rocked them. Needless to say, when the Golden Eagles were introduced last Saturday in their stylish, sleeveless Nike uniforms, they were beaming with confidence and it took very little after the first serve to realize that there was ground for it – the team that was voted dead-last in the EIVA Preseason Poll was swinging confidently, diving tirelessly after every ball, and winning many of them. The Golden Eagles competed with a Mason team which was without some starters in every one of the three sets and on numerous occasions even led by several points or in the decisive stages with a realistic chance to win at least their first set of the season. Ultimately, with strong performances from three of its most experienced players – redshirt seniors Paco Velez (10 kills, 2 aces) and Dom Edgley (4 kills, 3 solo blocks) and redshirt junior Graham Gresham (10 kills, 1 solo block) – Mason earned the much-needed win, but even so after the match Coach Jay Hosack praised the young Charleston program.
“Hats off to Charleston and head coach Michael Crane, who's doing a tremendous job,” he said after his first win with the Patriots. “They came out fired up like we knew they would, this was their home crowd and their first ever EIVA match. It's not going to get any easier from here.”
The last major contrast from the two matches against the Golden Eagles came from Mason's locker room after the hard-fought win on Saturday. As opposed to a year ago, when the Patriots certainly appreciated the addition of a win to their record, but did not think too highly of it given Charleston's non-existing volleyball image at the time, after being given a run for their money on Saturday, Hosack's men celebrated more than a first win. They celebrated a win against a tough team that will cause a lot of headache to the other EIVA coaches, a win that marked the first winning EIVA start since 2013 and which has the potential to turn this season around. Most importantly, they celebrated the first win of the new era, which also happened to put them on top of the EIVA standings for the first time in quite a while…at least until this weekend.
Like Hosack said, it's not going to get easier from here, neither for Charleston, nor for Mason. As far as the Patriots are concerned, however, now it's time to go home!
