WHO: Men's Volleyball vs Pfeiffer
WHERE: RAC Gym, Fairfax, Va.
FINAL SCORE: Mason 3, Pfeiffer 1
KEY PLAYERS: Christian Malias – 11 kills, 8 digs, 3 aces; Paco Velez – 10 kills, 3 aces; Jack Wilson – 11 kills

Fairfax, Va. – After two players returned from injuries, George Mason University's men's volleyball team had a variety of options in attack and defeated the 2015 Conference Carolinas champion Pfeiffer in four sets on Friday night at the RAC.

MATCH NOTES

-Junior outside hitter Christian Malias and redshirt junior outside hitter Jack Wilson added to their strong performances this season and finished with team-high 11 kills, the former also adding 8 digs. Redshirt senior opposite hitter Paco Velez and junior outside hitter Radoslav Popov, both of whom missed last weekend's matches, hit the ground running on their returns – Velez had 10 kills and 3 aces off the bench while Popov returned to the starting lineup and contributed 9 kills while recording 8 digs as well.

-Seniors Sonny Hirini and Jonathan Martinez led Pfeiffer in attack as the Falcons tried to remain undefeated, posting 19 and 17 kills, respectively. Martinez also had a team-high 8 digs and recorded Pfeiffer's only ace in the contest.

-The first set was as close as it could and neither team could pull away until a kill by Hirini and an attack error by the Patriots put the Falcons ahead 21-19, resulting in a Mason timeout. Pfeiffer was even closer to the set at 22-20, but it was all Malias for the remainder of the set. The Orlando, Fla. racked up three kills and a service ace for his team's 5-1 run to end the set and take the lead in the match.

-Another Malias ace gave Mason its first three-point lead with another ace for 10-7. Pfeiffer, however, slowly chipped away the lead and tied the score before making an impactful 8-2 run to grab its largest lead of the match. Malias' third ace was followed by a Popov kill got the Patriots within two at 21-19 and made the end of the second set interesting, but ultimately closed the set at 25-22.

-Velez's serving sequence allowed Mason to score five unanswered points – including two aces – and helped the Patriots grab a 16-11 lead after an even start to the third set. The Patriots led by as many as seven on three occasions, last at 23-16, when the Falcons scored three-straight points to make it 23-19 and force head coach Jay Hosack to gather his team in a huddle. After the timeout, the Patriots orchestrated two successful attacks through Velez and Popov to win the set 25-20.

-The fourth set was full of runs, some more significant than others. With Mason leading 10-8 after overcoming an early-three point deficit, Pfeiffer went on an 8-1 run on Harrison Lutz's serving sequence to take a 16-11 lead. The Falcons retained their lead to 19-14, when Mason's sophomore setter Brian Negron stepped up to serve. His sharp float serve gave Pfeiffer's receivers plenty of trouble and resulted in six consecutive Patriot points that put the home team back in the lead. Pfeiffer came back to level terms three times, including at 22 all, but Velez assured the win for his team with a kill for 23-22 and tough serves that resulted in consecutive attack errors by the Falcons for the final 25-22 in the fourth set and Mason's first home win under Hosack.

STAT BREAKDOWN

-Even in the loss, Pfeiffer hit better overall than Mason, .312, and recorded three more kills than the Patriots, who hit .239 as a team, 52-49.

-The teams split the 70 digs in the contest right in the middle, 35-35.

-Mason showed drastic improvement in serving since last weekend and not only committed fewer serve errors than Pfeiffer, 20-15, but also outscored the Falcons 10-1 in aces.

-Pfeiffer was dominant at the net, 12-4.

NEXT ON THE COURT

The Patriots will face another Conference Carolinas member, Limestone, tomorrow at 7 p.m.