Box Score WHO: Men's Volleyball vs Harvard
WHERE: RAC Gym, Fairfax, Va.
FINAL SCORE: Harvard 3, George Mason 0
KEY PLAYERS: Radoslav Popov – 19 kills (match-high); Paco Velez – 11 kills, 10 digs; Johnny Gomez – 13 digs (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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Harvard (5-5, 2-1 EIVA)
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26
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40
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25
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3
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George Mason (5-7, 1-1 EIVA)
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24
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38
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22
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0
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Fairfax, Va. – In a match that was much more contested than the final score would indicate, George Mason University's men's volleyball team fell to EIVA rival Harvard in straight sets in the RAC on Friday night.
MATCH NOTES
-Junior outside hitter Radoslav Popov led all players in the match with a personal season-high 19 kills. Redshirt senior opposite hitter Paco Velez finished with a double-double, recording 11 kills and 10 digs, but junior libero Johnny Gomez was all over the court defensively and picked up a match-high 14 digs. Redshirt senior middle blocker Dom Edgley hit a team-high .500, but fell a kill short of double digits.
-The Crimson, which played the entire match with the same seven-man rotation, had two players with double-doubles – Brad Gretsch (12 kills, 10 digs) and Branden Clemens (11 kills, 13 digs). Casey White also recorded double digits offensively, finishing with 10 kills.
-Mason had the upper hand since the very beginning of the first set and despite Harvard tying the score three times early on, the Patriots accumulated a four-point lead at 18-14. Serving and attack errors by the Patriots allowed the Crimson to tie the score once again at 18, but respective kills by Popov and Velez restored their team's two-point leads late in the set, the latter giving Mason a double set point, 24-22. After Gretsch prevented the first one with a kill, he went on to serve for three additional Harvard points in succession to help the Crimson take the first set, 26-24.
-The momentum allowed Harvard to start the second set better and the Crimson's lead grew to as many as three at 8-5, an advantage that they retained until 16-13 in mid-set. A kill by redshirt freshman middle blocker Garrett Kollar, however, was followed by an ace and a kill by freshman outside hitter Kyle Barnes to tie the set at 16 and force a Harvard timeout. The Crimson later had a double set point themselves at 24-22, but they as well failed to capitalize on it and Mason came back on level terms with a kill by Velez and an attack error by Gretsch, 24-24. Twelve lead changes and 14 tied scores later, Harvard recorded back-to-back kills from Gretsch and Marko Kostich to prevail 40-38 in what would go down as one of the most intense sets in the rally era of NCAA volleyball.
-Despite the demoralizing loss in the previous set, Mason continued to fight in the third set, despite falling back early on. The Patriots managed to fight off a two-point advantage and even took the lead with a kill by sophomore setter Brian Negron toward the end of the set, 19-18, but the Crimson won three-straight points to mark the final shift of momentum before closing the set and match at 25-22.
STAT BREAKDOWN
-Mason recorded 10 more kills than Harvard, 52-42, but fewer errors on the Crimson's part led to Harvard's better .260 hitting performance than the Patriots' .220.
-Both teams had three aces apiece, but serving errors continued to harm Mason as they have all season – 22-13.
-Harvard outdug their opponent 44-37.
-Edgley, Kollar and redshirt junior outside hitter Jack Wilson each had a solo block on the night, but Trevor Dow (2 solo blocks, 2 block assists) helped the Crimson win the bathe at the net, 8-6.
NEXT ON THE COURT
The teams will square off again tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. as several former Patriots will return to the RAC to be recognized for their contribution to the men's volleyball program.
