Box Score WHO: Men's Volleyball vs Coker
WHERE: RAC Gym, Fairfax, Va.
FINAL SCORE: Mason 3, Coker 0
KEY PLAYERS: Radoslav Popov – 14 kills (match-high), .700 hitting
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1st
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2nd
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3rd
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Total
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Coker (5-4)
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14
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22
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15
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0
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George Mason (4-6, 1-0 EIVA)
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25
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25
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25
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3
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Fairfax, Va. – George Mason University's men's volleyball team was dominant in all but one sets on its way to sweep Coker on Friday night in the RAC for their third-straight victory.
MATCH NOTES
-Junior outside hitter Radoslav Popov was flawless in attack for Mason and finished with a match-high 14 kills on a .700 hitting performance. Popov also led a balanced Mason defense on the night with 5 digs. Redshirt senior opposite hitter Paco Velez and junior outside hitter Christian Malias were both a kill short of double digits.
-Coker's leading scorer on the season Artur Cabral was the only Cobra who finished with double digits, registering 10 kills in the contest. Cabral also had a team-high 5 digs.
-A well-timed timeout by Coker when Mason led 10-5 in the first set sparked a 4-0 run by the Cobras, which got them within one with consecutive aces by Parsons, but Malias' serving sequence, which also featured two aces, helped the Patriots accumulate a seven-point lead at 16-9. A kill by Popov soon after made Mason's lead a double-digit one at 20-10 as Jay Hosack's team cruised to the win in the first set, 25-14.
-Cabral's kill and Luke Grupe's ace gave Coker its largest lead in the match at 2-0 in the second set, but Mason quickly regained the momentum with a 7-2 run to grab a three-point advantage. The Cobras came within one twice over the course of the next minutes, but Mason withstood the pressure and created a three-point cushion at 19-16 to force a Coker timeout. Coker came on level terms at 22 all on a bad set by Popov, but the junior repaid his debt shortly after with the winning kill for 25-22 after consecutive Cobra errors.
-A phenomenal start of the third set by Mason forced another Coker timeout at 10-3, but Velez worsened the Cobras' situation even more with consecutive aces following the break, 12-3. Strong minutes by the visiting team cut the Patriots' lead to five at 14-9, but Mason responded with five-straight points to increase their advantage to double digits, 19-9. Mason completed the sweep with 25-15 in the third set, the final two points coming on the service sequence of junior middle blocker Ryan Rosenmeier, who made his season debut for the Patriots along with freshman outside hitter Aaron Cymbor.
STAT BREAKDOWN
-Mason recorded its best hitting performance of the season to date - .463 – and doubled Coker's kills, 42-21.
-The Patriots had seven digs more than the Cobras at the end of the match, 19-12.
-Velez and Malias combined for six of Mason's 8 aces in the match, while Colton Parsons was the only Coker player who had more than one (2) of the Cobras' 5 aces.
-The Cobras' blockers did well to keep up with Mason's and the teams split 10 blocks right in the middle, 5-5.
POST-MATCH QUOTES
“I was very proud of my boys' performance tonight. I thought that our serving improved. It's tough to play a team that you know you should beat on paper, but I thought that our level of play did not dip much.” – Mason's head coach Jay Hosack
NEXT ON THE COURT
The Patriots host Conference Carolinas member Lees-McRae tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m.
