Box Score WHO: No. 14 Men's Volleyball vs No. 5 UCLA
WHERE: RAC Gym, Fairfax, Va.
FINAL SCORE: UCLA 3, George Mason 0
KEY PLAYERS: Christian Malias – 12 kill (match-high)
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1st
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2nd
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3rd
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Total
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UCLA (1-0)
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25
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25
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25
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3
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George Mason (0-1)
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23
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12
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20
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0
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Fairfax, Va. – The 14th-ranked George Mason University men's volleyball team met tough competition in No. 5 UCLA and dropped its season opener in straight sets at RAC Gym on Tuesday night.
MATCH NOTES
-Junior outside hitter Christian Malias showed fine early-season form after impressing for Mason last season and led the Patriots with 12 kills on .333 hitting; sophomore middle blocker Garrett Kollar earned his debut for Mason as a starter and finished with 4 kills on a team-best .600 hitting.
-The Bruins also had one player in double digits with sophomore JT Hatch recording 11 kills; Hatch also had match-high 5 digs.
-As both teams struggled to find their serving stride early on, UCLA managed to commit fewer mistakes and gained a five-point lead at 10-5, forcing Jay Hosack's first timeout as Mason's head coach. The lead reached set-high six points at 17-11, but three consecutive points by Mason – two on UCLA errors and a service ace by junior outside hitter Radoslav Popov – cut it in half and forced a Bruin timeout, 17-14.
-UCLA started the second set on a 3-0 run and continued to dominate later on, earning its first seven-point lead at 14-7. Mason won only five points for the remainder of the set and the Bruins closed the set 25-12.
-The Patriots seemed unaffected by the result in the previous set in the beginning of the third and remained even with their opponent until 5-5, after which the Bruins capitalized on consecutive errors by Mason to pull away 9-5.
-Malias got the Patriots within one with a kill to make it 10-9 soon after, which gave the team momentum to fight back at 15 all and even grab a short lead – their only in the contest – at 17-16 thanks to an attack error by freshman Micah Ma'a.
-The teams entered the closing stage of the third set locked at 20, but at the end UCLA demonstrated better execution and scored five unanswered points to take the third and final set 3-0 and win a seventh-straight match against an Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Asssociation opponent.
STAT BREAKDOWN
-UCLA committed only six attack errors and recorded 34 kills in the match to finish with an impressive .538 hitting percentage; Mason had 23 kills on their own and hit .157 in the contest.
-Typically for an early-season contest, the teams combined for 39 service error, of which the Patriots had the lion's share, 23-16. The Bruins also had eight of the 10 service aces in the game.
-Neither defense could make much of its opponent's attacks, resulting in a low-digging contest, which UCLA won 11-10.
-Popov had Mason's only solo block and two of the Patriots' six block assists as the team was edged by the Bruins 5-4 in blocks.
POST-GAME QUOTES
“Although the result is not what we were looking for, I was really encouraged by some of the things that I saw. I think that with a few more matches under our belt, we will get into a nice rhythm.” – Mason's head coach Jay Hosack
“These fans are awesome! They packed this gym on a Tuesday night with no one being in school and I really appreciate all of them coming out here tonight and supporting us. We have a new team, with its unique personality, and I couldn't be prouder with the way it responded tonight. The team will get better, so I encourage everyone to continue to come out and support us.” – Mason's head coach Jay Hosack
NEXT ON THE COURT
Mason will next head West to participate in one of the most prestigious non-conference tournaments, the AVCA Showcase in Provo, Utah. On Friday and Saturday, the Patriots will face No. 2 UC Irvine and tournament host No. 1 BYU, respectively.
