Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 WHO: Women's Volleyball vs. Hampton @ Mason Invitational
WHERE: RAC Gym, Fairfax, Va.
FINAL SCORE: Mason 3, Hampton 0
KEY PLAYERS: Tiffany Clarke – 10 kills, .769 hitting (match-high); Katrina Santos – 6 kills (career-high), 5 blocks (career-high); Sydney Fanoga – 6 kills, .417 hitting, 4 blocks; Catie Espinoza – 13 digs
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1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
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TOTAL
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Hampton (1-9)
|
15
|
17
|
14
|
0
|
George Mason (3-9)
|
25
|
25
|
25
|
3
|
WHO: Women's Volleyball vs. Loyola (Md.) @ Mason Invitational
WHERE: RAC Gym, Fairfax, Va.
FINAL SCORE: Mason 3, Loyola (Md.)
KEY PLAYERS: Bailey Williams – 10 kills (match-high), 6 digs; Sydney Fanoga – 8 kills, .583 hitting (match-high); Magee Bailey – 8 digs (career-high); Katrina Santos – 9 blocks (career-high)
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
TOTAL
|
Loyola (Md.) (3-8)
|
11
|
19
|
22
|
0
|
George Mason (4-9)
|
25
|
25
|
25
|
3
|
FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason University's women's volleyball team showed offensive prowess and defensive resiliency in the second day of the Mason Invitational, which led to straight-set wins against Hampton and Loyola (Md.) on Saturday that completed the Patriots' non-conference schedule.
KEY NOTES OF THE DAY
-Only senior opposite hitter Tiffany Clarke (10 kills against Hampton) and freshman outside hitter Bailey Williams (10 kills against Loyola) recorded double digits offensively over the course of the day, but the Patriots recorded four additional performances of at least six kills, including two from junior middle blocker Sydney Fanoga, who had six in the first match and eight in the second.
-The match against the Greyhounds was the first time that sophomore libero Catie Espinoza did not lead Mason in digs in a win, due to the young bloods on the team stepping up: freshman defensive specialist Magee Bailey had a career night with eight digs, while her classmate outside hitter Mikala Wells had seven digs. Espinoza and Williams followed with six digs each. Freshman middle blocker demonstrated defensive prowess of another kind by posting a career- and match-high five blocks against the Pirates. To the delight of head coach Jackie Simpson-Kirr, that record did not stand long, because Santos shattered it herself in the nightcap to lead her team to another win with nine blocks. Hampton and Loyola combined for 10 blocks against the Patriots, which was exactly as many as Mason recorded against the Pirates. That performance was second-best by Santos and company on the day, since they had 14 team blocks against the Greyhounds.
-The most kills Mason allowed by an opposing player on Saturday was seven, which was achieved by three players – Hampton's Lena Washington and Reeana Richardson and Loyola's Ann Ernst. For the latter two that came at the cost of negative hitting because they made eight and nine errors, respectively, in the process. Of the two visiting teams, the Greyhounds fared better against the Patriots' defense by hitting .000 as a team, because the Pirates finished the contest against Mason with a -.037 team hitting mark.
-Attacking efficiency played a major role for Mason's dominant performance on Saturday. The Patriots had only 34 kills against Hampton but hit .280 against the Pirates and later put away 30 kills against Loyola while hitting .253. Those were the two most efficient attack performances by Simpson-Kirr's team this season and resulted in the two most dominant performances of the season.
NEXT ON THE COURT
-Mason will next make one of its historically toughest road trips as it heads to Saint Louis and Dayton on the opening weekend of Atlantic 10 Conference play.