WHO: No. 14 Men's Volleyball vs No. 2 UC Irvine @ AVCA Showcase
WHERE: Smith Fieldhouse, Provo, Utah
FINAL SCORE: UC Irvine 3, Mason 0
KEY PLAYERS: Christian Malias – 10 kills, 1 ace; Brian Negron – 30 assists, 8 digs (match-high)

Fairfax, Va. – George Mason University's men's volleyball team showed at specific moments that it can play with the same intensity as the best teams in the country, but that was not enough for the Patriots to take a set from No. 2 UC Irvine in the AVCA Showcase opener on Friday night.

MATCH NOTES

-Junior outside hitter Christian Malias led his team in attack for second-straight match and finished with 10 kills on a .300 hitting performance; redshirt junior Jack Wilson contributed recorded 8 kills while hitting .238.

-Sophomore setter Brian Negron racked up 30 assists for the Patriots and contributed 8 digs in the match, more than anyone else on either side of the court.

-Tim Hershko was the main offensive weapon for the Anteaters in their season-opening win and finished with a match-high 11 kills on a .286 hitting performance.

-Mason was in trouble early on and head coach Jay Hosack was forced to call a timeout at 9-3 UCI. The Anteaters' lead increased to seven on the first play out of the huddle, but the Patriots regained their composure and gradually cut the lead down to two at 15-13 after going on a 6-2 run with three kills by Malias.

-The Patriots stuck around for a while, but an attack error by Mason, followed by kill by Hershko, gave UCI a four-point lead going into the closing stage of the set, 20-16. The Anteaters guaranteed themselves at least six set points after stretching their lead to 24-17, but needed a timeout to construct a set-winning play for 25-21 after four unanswered points by Mason.

-Malias gave Mason its first lead with a kill to make it 1-0 and for the following minutes the Patriots were the better side with their lead growing to three at 5-2. UCI recovered immediately and orchestrated a six-point turn-around to grab a three-point lead themselves at 11-8. Mason came within two at 16-14, but again could not get over that threshold and scored only two additional points in the set, which went the Anteaters' way 25-16.

-Three consecutive errors by Hershko gave Mason one-point leads early in the third set and although UCI came even twice, the Patriots fought hard to increase their tender advantage at 7-5 on back-to-back Wilson and redshirt junior middle blocker Graham Gresham kills.

-Three unanswered points, however, put the Anteaters back in the driving seat and although junior outside hitter Radoslav Popov brought Mason back on level terms with kills at 8 all and 9 all, UCI pulled away at 12-9 with another mini-run.

-Kills by Malias and redshirt seniors Paco Velez and Dom Edgley brought Mason within two later in the third set, but back-to-back service aces by Michael Saeta gave UCI a five-point lead at 20-15, which put the Anteaters in pole position to close the set and match at 25-18.

STAT BREAKDOWN

-Mason hit a .171 as a team in the contest and had only four kills fewer than its opponent, 37-33, but the Anteaters also committed fewer errors, which contributed to their better .300 hitting performance.

-UCI served better on the night, recording 6 aces, as opposed to Mason's 1, but the Patriots were quicker to the ground and won the digging battle against the Anteaters 25-18.

-Popov and Malias had the only solo blocks in the match, in which Mason outblocked UCI 6-5.

POST-GAME QUOTES

“We are learning how to compete at the highest level for longer strings of time. That is the key to our getting the results we want. I like what I see at times, now if we can learn to execute like that for longer, we will be happy.” – Mason's head coach Jay Hosack

NEXT ON THE COURT