Box Score WHO: Men's Volleyball vs Limestone
WHERE: RAC Gym, Fairfax, Va.
FINAL SCORE: Mason 3, Limestone 0
KEY PLAYERS: Paco Velez – 17 kills (match-high), 3 aces (match-high); Justin Coleman – 37 assists (career-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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Limestone (3-4, 2-3 CC)
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20
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22
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23
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0
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George Mason (2-6, 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. – Jay Hosack, the head coach of George Mason University's men's volleyball team found the right combination of youth and experience in his lineup against Limestone and the Patriots were victorious in three sets in the RAC on Saturday night.
MATCH NOTES
-Redshirt senior opposite hitter Paco Velez led Mason with 17 kills on the night and added 3 aces to his impressive attacking display. Freshman setter Justin Coleman earned his second start as a Patriot and stayed on the court for the entire duration of the match, contributing career-high 37 assists. All but one of the 10 Mason players who saw playing time against the Saints registered at least one dig, but junior libero Johnny Gomez was again above all players on either side of the net with 7 digs.
-Junior Bruno Kretzschmar was the best Limestone player in the contest, leading the Saints both in offense and defense with 10 kills and 6 digs.
-A strong start by Limestone materialized in a three-point Saints lead at 11-8 in the first set and forced a Mason timeout. Shortly after, with the Patriots still, Velez stepped up to serve and scored three aces in a row to spark a 4-0 run for his team and give it 15-13 lead. With the momentum entirely on Mason's side of the net, the Patriots led by as many as five at 19-14 and closed the first set with the same margin on a service ace by freshman outside hitter Kyle Barnes, 25-20.
-The momentum carried over into the second set and Mason accumulated a three-point lead early on, increasing it to four on a kill by Velez for 11-7. Limestone put a few mini runs together and managed to tie the score and take the lead at 16-15 after consecutive attack errors by the Patriots. The Saints kept their narrow lead until 20-19, but Mason had the final say in the set and kills from Velez and junior outside hitter Radoslav Popov, as well as an ace by junior outside hitter Christian Malias contributed to the 6-2 run which gave the Patriots a two-set lead, 25-22.
-Limestone began the third set with a 4-0 run on Logan Riley's serving sequence. When the Saints' advantage grew to five as the teams entered double digits, Hosack immediately called a timeout. The Patriots came out strong out of the huddle and went on an 11-4 run to grab its highest lead of the set at 17-15. The Saints kept pushing, however, and won four of the following five points to get back in the lead, 19-18. The Patriots had to fight off two more Limestone leads, but Velez showed iron nerves in the end grabbed Mason's last three points of the match, completing the sweep for his team with 25-23 in the third set.
STAT BREAKDOWN
-Mason did not have its most efficient attacking performance, hitting .195 as a team, but still recorded twice as many kills as Limestone, 40-20. The Saints combined for a .086 hitting performance.
-The Patriots edged the Saints in terms of digs, 25-21.
-Mason caused Limestone plenty of damage from the serve and registered 8 aces, as opposed to the Saints' 3, but the risk from behind the line resulted in 19 errors by the Patriots, eight more than their opponents.
-For the second match in a row, the Patriots were outblocked by their opponent, 12-4.5.
NEXT ON THE COURT
The Patriots have another pair of home contests against Conference Carolinas opposition next weekend, beginning with a match against Coker on Friday at 5 p.m.
