Box Score WHO: Men's Volleyball at Princeton
WHERE: Dillon Gym, Princeton, N.J.
FINAL SCORE: Mason 3, Princeton 0
KEY PLAYERS: Paco Velez – 14 kills (match-high), .480 hitting; Christian Malias – 14 kills (match-high), 6 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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George Mason (7-10, 3-4 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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|
Princeton (3-10, 3-4 EIVA)
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17
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23
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10
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0
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Princeton, N.J. – George Mason University's men's volleyball team gained important momentum in its fight for postseason on Saturday, when it swept Princeton, another EIVA Championship spot contestant, in the Tigers' own Dillon Gym.
MATCH NOTES
-Junior outside hitter Christian Malias recorded his fourth-straight match in double digits and led Mason's attack alongside redshirt senior opposite hitter Paco Velez, both recording 14 kills apiece. The former made an impact in defense as well with 6 digs, splitting a match-high performance with the Patriots' junior libero Johnny Gomez.
-Princeton had little going their way offensively with senior Devin Stearns recording a team-high 6 kills on a -.043 hitting performance. His classmate Zach Shaw was most effective in defense, digging 5 of Mason's 77 attack attempts.
-An ace by Velez was followed by a Malias kill to give Mason a 5-3 advantage in the first set, after which the Patriots never gave up the lead. Mason entered double digits with a three-point lead on an attack error by Stearns and Hosack's players never let their foot off the gas, leading by as many as eight at 22-14 before closing the set more than comfortably by the same margin on yet another Tiger error in attack, 25-17.
-The most trouble that Mason had in the match came in the second set, when a sequence of Patriot errors gave Princeton a match-high three point lead at 5-2. The Tigers retained the advantage until 9-6 but Mason responded with three-straight points to erase the deficit. Velez gave his team its first lead of the set with a kill for 11-10, which put Mason back in the driving seat in an agonizingly close set. Princeton did have two additional short-lived leads at 17-16 and 18-17, both resulting from Mason errors, but the Patriots controlled the scoring tempo. In the closing moments of the set, Malias showed great composure to put his team two sets ahead with back-to-back kill and ace for the final 25-23 score line.
-The Patriots were absolutely ruthless in attack in the third set, registering 16 kills and no errors. Mason got out of sight early on and had a six-point lead after the opening 10 plays of the set, 8-2. The Patriots made the most of their momentum and kept pushing, eventually extending their advantage to double digits with a kill by Velez for 15-5. Even that did not allow for a Princeton run and Mason outscored the Tigers by additional five points for the remainder of the set to complete the sweep with the team's most resounding set victory this season, 25-10.
STAT BREAKDOWN
-Mason's dominance in attack was well illustrated by the teams' hitting percentages – the Patriots' .416 for 43 kills and the Tigers' .123 for 26 kills.
-Jay Hosack's Patriots were flawless in receiving, leaving Princeton without an ace while grabbing six themselves – a pair each from Malias, Velez and redshirt senior middle blocker Dom Edgley.
-Mason had eight more digs more than Princeton, 24-16, and outblocked the Tigers 12-10.5 with the help of three solo blocks by Velez.
POST-MATCH QUOTES
“We played the little things well tonight. Whenever they tried to press us, we answered with just good volleyball. I am very proud of my boys tonight.” – Mason's head coach Jay Hosack
NEXT ON THE COURT
Mason will go into spring break next week before stepping out of EIVA play to visit Conference Carolinas members King and Pfeiffer March 18-19.
