Box Score WHO: Men's Volleyball vs Princeton
WHERE: RAC Gym, Fairfax, Va.
FINAL SCORE: Mason 3, Princeton 0
KEY PLAYERS: Paco Velez – 13 kills, 4 digs, 1 ace; Radoslav Popov – 10 kills, .333 hitting, 2 digs; Johnny Gomez – 11 digs
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1st
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2nd
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3rd
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Total
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Princeton (3-19, 3-9 EIVA)
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25
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18
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21
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0
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George Mason (14-11, 7-4 EIVA)
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27
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25
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25
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3
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Fairfax, Va. – George Mason University's men's volleyball team overcame an early slump and did not allow Princeton to take even a set on Saturday evening, sweeping the Tigers in the RAC for its fifth consecutive victory, the longest winning streak under head coach Jay Hosack.
MATCH NOTES
-Redshirt senior opposite hitter Paco Velez was once again the main concern for the opposing defenders, finishing with a team-high 13 kills. Junior outside hitter Radoslav Popov had his sixth double-digit performance this season with 10 kills, while his classmate and fellow outside hitter Christian Malias fell one kill short of doing the same. The three also combined for 13 digs, two more than junior libero's Johnny Gomez's match-high 11 digs.
-Princeton's Devin Stearns also continued with his good performances this season and finished the night with a match-high 15 kills on a team-high .481 hitting performance. Kendall Ratter added 11. The two contributed four digs apiece, an aspect in which the Tigers were led by Mike Fuerst with 7 digs.
-Ratter gave Princeton the lead with a kill for the first point in the match, but Mason responded with two kills from Malias and two aces by redshirt senior middle blocker Dom Edgley, 4-1. The Tigers were quick to tie it up at 5 all, and despite later trailing by two on a kill by Popov, went on a 6-1 run to force the Patriots into a timeout after consecutive aces from Ratter, 11-8. Mason could not find response to Princeton's attackers for the moment and the lead grew to five at 17-12, causing for Hosack to call for his second timeout in the set. A block by redshirt freshman Garrett Kollar and sophomore setter Brian Negron on Ratter was Mason's third-straight point after the timeout and Princeton's head coach Sam Schweisky hurried to call a timeout in attempt to kill Mason's momentum. The Tigers did well to protect their lead for the following minutes, but three consecutive errors by Princeton put Mason into the lead, 23-22. A well-timed Schweisky timeout allowed Princeton to regain its composure and win straight points for the first set point of the set, as well as the second shortly after at 25-24 with a kill by Ratter. The Patriots had the final say in the set, however, and won it 27-25 with back-to-back-to-back points, two of which came off Princeton errors.
-A Stearns kill ended Mason's 3-0 start to the second set, marking the only occasion in the set in which the Patriots' lead would be as few as two. Later, Edgley and Popov blocked Ratter to put Mason in double digits with twice as many points as Princeton, 10-5. The Razlog, Bulgaria native later showed his offensive prowess with back-to-back kills to increase his team's lead to six at 17-11 and force a Tiger timeout. Although the lead grew to seven on the following play, Princeton capitalized on several Mason errors and attempted to put some pressure on the Patriots with a 5-2 run to come within four at 20-16. Popov and Velez had other ideas in mind, however, and added two kills apiece late on while the senior also aced once to help the Patriots match Princeton's run and win the set 25-18.
-Time and time again Mason would pull away by two points early in the third set, but every time Princeton would fight back to tie the score. In mid-set, Stearns halved another two-point Mason advantage with a kill for 15-14, but then the Patriots went on a 3-0 run to pull away by four for the first time, 18-14. The persistent Tigers refused to give up and came back right away at 18-17 with a kill by hot-handed Stearns. A kill by Edgley started another Mason streak, this one of four consecutive points, but even the five-point lead at times seemed as it may not be enough to tame the Tigers, who cut it to two at 22-20 and 23-21. A service error by Ratter and a kill by Malias settled the set and match at 25-21 for the Patriots' fourth consecutive win against Princeton.
STAT BREAKDOWN
-Mason's dominance in attack was well illustrated by the teams' hitting percentages – the Patriots' .318 and the Tigers' .172. Hosack's men had only five more kills than their opponents, 41-36, but it was Princeton's seven more attack errors which created the big disparity – 21-14.
-Other aspects of the match were much more contested, with Mason only edging Princeton 27-26 in digs and the teams tied at four apiece in blocks. The Tigers even one key statistical category, acing four times in comparison to Mason's three service aces.
POST-MATCH QUOTES
“Our fifth consecutive win is a testament to the hard work that we have been doing all season long. Tonight the guys maybe didn't play the best that they have done all year long, but they still played good volleyball against a well-coached and talented Princeton team.” – Mason's head coach Jay Hosack
NEXT ON THE COURT
Mason will have their five-match win streak put to a serious test in the final weekend of regular season. The Patriots welcome vote-receiving Saint Francis at 7 p.m. on Friday and No. 11 Penn State at the same time on Saturday for Velez's and Edgley's Senior Night.
