MUNCIE, Ind. – For second consecutive match, a positive start was not enough for George Mason University's men's volleyball team to defeat a ranked opponent. Mason won a spectacular first set at No. 13 Ball State on Thursday night, but could not capitalize on the advantage and fell to the Cardinals in four sets.

MATCH NOTES

-Freshman outside hitter Sam Greenslade had a career-high performance of eight kills in the loss. That number surpassed Greenslade's seven combined kills in the previous four matches in which he featured. He picked up five digs as well coming off the bench.

-Redshirt senior opposite hitter Jack Wilson (season-high 7 digs, 1 block) continued his six-match streak of double-digit offensive performances with 10 kills against the Cardinals. Wilson had also led the Patriots' offense in the last six matches. As a team, Mason was held to under .200 hitting for second-straight match to lose consecutive matches for the first time this season.

-The Patriots had a much more balanced team performance defensively. Sophomore libero Seth Blevins led the team with eight digs, but eight additional Mason players also registered their name in that stat category; half of them had at least four digs.

-All 12 Mason players who made the trip to Indiana appeared in the match. Only three of them – redshirt sophomore middle blocker Langston Payne (7 kills, 4 blocks), junior setter Brian Negron (29 assists, 4 kills, 3 blocks) and sophomore libero Seth Blevins – played in all four sets.

-The Patriots began the fourth set with their youngest lineup yet this season, which was composed of three freshmen, two redshirt and one true sophomore, and a junior.

-Brendan Surane, one of the stars on Ball State's team, recorded a double double with match-high 21 kills and 10 digs. Surane nearly dominated the defensive stats, too, but his teammate Adam Wessell, the Cardinals' libero, had 12 digs. Surane was also one of three Ball State players with match-best five blocks.

-Thursday's match was Ball State's sixth early-season test against Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) opposition in 2017. With the win, the Cardinals improved to 6-0 in that portion of their non-conference schedule. The Cardinals' last EIVA test will be at home tomorrow night against NJIT.

HOW IT HAPPENED

-Wilson was the go-to guy for Mason early on and that seemed to work out just fine because big plays from the senior not only helped the Patriots battle back from a 4-1 deficit but also gave them their first lead at 9-8. Later on, Wilson's third kill of the set was followed by an attack error by Matt Szews (9 kills, 2 aces, 5 digs) to give Mason its largest lead of two and force a Ball State timeout at 14-12. Although back-to-back kills from the hot hand on the other side of the net, Surane, tied the set at 14, an ace by senior outside hitter Radoslav Popov (2 kills, 5 digs, 1 block) – one of two for the Patriots in the match – and kills from sophomore outside hitter Kyle Barnes (3 kills, 3 digs, 1 block) and Wilson extended Mason's' lead to its match-high at 20-16. Consecutive kills from Ball State's Mitch Weiler (14 kills, .433 hitting, 3 digs) inspired a 5-1 Cardinals run that tied the score once again at 21 all. The home team even had the first set point after Surane and Alex Pia (4 kills, 5 blocks) blocked Wilson, but after another timeout the Patriots responded with a triple stuff on Weiler to force extra points, 24-24. After that point, each team wasted three set points each before the marathon of a set finished with a happy end for Mason with Negron and Payne stopping Surane at the net when it mattered the most, 32-30.

-One of Szews' two aces in the contest matched Ball State's first-set start in the second set, but kills from redshirt senior middle blocker Graham Gresham and Wilson cut the lead to one at 4-3. That was not the beginning of another comeback, however, and in fact Mason was never even on level terms as Ball State controlled the set from the start to the finish. As the teams entered double digits, the Patriots hung on within three until mid-set to keep the hope alive, but the Cardinals turned it up a notch and finished the set on a 10-3 run to tie the match, 25-15. Kills by Wilson, Payne, and Greenslade were Mason's only points after the 15-12 mark.

-An early 3-0 Mason run allowed the Patriots to grab their first lead after the intermission with a kill from Greenslade for 3-2, but Ball State soon responded with a 6-1 run that gave the Cardinals a four-point advantage at 8-4. Ultimately, the teams were all square at 10-10 after a powerful swing kill from Mason's setter Negron, who had his second 1.000 hitting performance of the season. A block by freshman opposite hitter Bradley Creamer (3 kills, 2 blocks) and redshirt sophomore middle blocker Garrett Kollar (2 kills, 1 ace) even put Mason in the lead on the following play, but that was the Patriots' last reason to celebrate for a while. Ball State won eight of the following 10 points to set the tone for the remainder of the set and force a Hosack timeout at 18-13 and won the first five points off Szews' serve after play resumed to grab a 10-point lead, 23-13. Payne and Greenslade once again picked up late kills, but soon after the inevitable happened and the Cardinals took the lead in the match as a block by Surane and Matt Walsh (8 kills, 5 blocks, 1 ace) closed the set at 25-16.

-The fourth set got to a great start for Mason's young lineup as two kills by Hayden Wagner and one by Creamer accumulated a 3-0 lead for the Patriots. Hosack's team hung on to its tender advantage for the following minutes but an unassisted kill by Surane eventually tied the score at 6 apiece. A successful play by Creamer put his team back in the lead, but was followed by a 4-0 Ball State run which helped the Cardinals go into double digits with a three-point cushion, 10-7. It was then Mason's turn to put a string of points together as Greenslade had a huge role in a 4-1 run that tied the set at 11-11. Once again, Mason managed to hang on and seemed to make a big play just often enough to prevent Ball State from running away with the set but ultimately the Cardinals ended the fourth set and match on a 6-3 run for the final, seemingly comfortable 25-19 scoreline.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

"I thought we showed some grit to hang on, but that is all we did – hung on." – Mason's head coach Jay Hosack

"We haven't learned how to get dirty in a fight, so I thought we would give some young guys a chance to see where they fit amongs it all. Bottom line is, we are not at a championship level [yet].

"Hopefully we learn along the way the ability to get dirty, to get in a fist fight, and at the end learn that it's okay to get bloody. That's what sport is all about."

NEXT ON THE COURT

Mason will be back in action in less than 24 hours when the Patriots visit the other Indiana-based MIVA member, Fort Wayne. First serve is at 7 p.m.