Box Score

WHO: Men's Volleyball at Saint Francis (Pa.)
WHERE: DeGol Arena, Loretto, Pa.
FINAL SCORE:
KEY PLAYERS:

	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
George Mason (5-9, 1-3 EIVA)	23	25	16	0
Saint Francis (Pa.) (8-6, 3-3 EIVA)	25	27	25	3

Loretto, Pa. – George Mason University's men's volleyball team fought hard in the opening two sets but was unable to halt Saint Francis' winning streak at home and fell to the Red Flash in straight sets in the DeGol Arena on Friday night.

MATCH NOTES

-Redshirt senior opposite hitter Paco Velez and junior outside hitter Christian Malias registered double digits in attack for Mason and finished with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Junior libero Johnny Gomez had another outstanding defensive performance with a match-high 12 digs.

-Jeff Hogan and Stephen Braswell lived up to their name as Saint Francis' most dangerous attackers and led the Red Flash with 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Everyone contributed in defense for the home team – Daniel Ford had a team-high 5 digs but four more players had at least 3 digs on the night.

-Mason started off better and a kill by junior outside hitter Radoslav Popov gave the Patriots a 4-2 lead in the first set before the team fell in somewhat of slump and allowed Saint Francis to go on a 6-1 run, forcing head coach Jay Hosack to call a timeout. The following minutes featured mini runs by both teams, as a result of which Mason tied the score at 9 and trailed by as many as four. A three-point run by the Patriots, topped with an ace by Velez cut Saint Francis' lead to one and forced the Red Flash's first timeout in the match at 14-13. The remainder of the set was as close as it could be and the teams traded one-point leads four times with Mason having six such leads, five of them gained with kills by either Malias or Velez. Saint Francis made the first decisive step toward taking the opening set by taking a two-point lead at 22-20 on a Braswell kill. A service error by the Red Flash and a kill by redshirt senior middle blocker Dom Edgley got Mason on level terms once again, but Saint Francis won three of the final four points to take the set 25-23.

-After another Braswell kill gave Saint Francis their second lead of the second set at 4-3, Mason went on a 4-0 run to take a firm grasp of the momentum with a three-point lead, 7-4. Although Saint Francis managed to tie the score three times, the Patriots didn't let their foot off the gas and another run gave them another three-point lead as the set approached its closing stages, 19-16. A kill by Hogan got the Red Flash within one at 20-19, but Velez's sixth kill of the set put Mason ahead by two once again, 21-19. Saint Francis' freshman setter Daniel Ford connected with Braswell and Hogan on consecutive plays to help the Red Flash tie the set once again at 22 all and although Mason regained the lead through a Malias kill afterward, the Red Flash remained the more aggressive side and took the lead at 24-23 on an ace by Braswell, which also forced a Patriot timeout. The Patriots reacted well to eliminate Saint Francis' first two set points with kills by Malias and Velez, but the Red Flash won consecutive points on their third attempt and went two sets to the good, 27-25.

-The third set began in a similar, closely contested fashion and there was nothing to separate the two teams at 11 all, but then Saint Francis went on a 10-1 run to grab a match-high nine-point lead at 21-12. Mason's final push only cut that advantage to seven at 23-16, but the Red Flash still completed the sweep by grabbing consecutive points for the final 25-16 in the third set.

STAT BREAKDOWN

-Saint Francis hit .304 as a collective in the contest and registered 37 kills against Mason. The Patriots had a .156 hitting performance put away 31 of their 77 attack attempts.

-Malias had Mason's only ace on the night, while Braswell had 3 himself and the rest of the Red Flash players combining for three more.

-Gomez had more than half of the Patriots' digs, helping his team out-dig its opponent 23-22.

-The Red Flash registered twice as many solo blocks as Mason, 4-2, ultimately winning the battle at the net 8-6.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

“My hat's off to Saint Francis. They played good volleyball tonight and we couldn't answer. We will have our hands full tomorrow, but we will learn from watching video and will get better.” – Mason's head coach Jay Hosack

NEXT ON THE COURT

The Patriots have another tough road test tomorrow night, when they will face No. 6 Penn State, which is undefeated (6-0) in EIVA play so far this season.