- Season high hit percentage not enough as Mason falls to La Salle 3-1.
- Bailey Williams, Jordan Glass and Sydney Fanoga all reach double-digit kills.
- Fanoga's .500 hit percentage marks the second highest by a Patriots this season.
FINAL: La Salle 3, Mason 1 (
PDF Box Score)
Bailey Williams – 13 kills;
Emily Konchan – 36 assists;
Catie Espinoza – 16 digs (T-Match High).
FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason welcomed La Salle to town for the second of two meetings between them in the regular season. Despite the Patriots having a season-high .252 hit percentage and three players recording double-digit kills, the Patriots lost 3-1.
"Sydney and Jordan did an excellent job anchoring the offense and they brought it every single play," head coach Aylene Ilkson said. "Emily put up a nice ball [for the attackers] every single time but to La Salle credit they were digging a lot of balls and making it hard for us."
Friday marked the first time since the George Washington match on Oct. 6 that the Patriots had three players record 10 or more kills.
The Patriots were led by
Jordan Glass out of the gates as she picked up five kills on just eight attempts. Down 17-9 in the frame, the Patriots stormed back going on a 6-2 run to bring it to within four. However, La Salle hung on to take the set 25-20.
Glass got things started in set number two with a kill and the Patriots were off to the races. After a
Mikala Wells kill tied the score at 6-6, Mason went on a 9-3 run to give them a comfortable 14-9 lead they held for most of the remaining set. The Explorers had their moment when a run of their own gave them a 23-21 lead, but Mason took over with a 4-0 run to end the set, giving them a set two victory by a score of 25-23. The 4-0 run was capped off by kills from Glass,
Maddie French and
Emily Konchan.
After the intermission,
Bailey Williams made her presence felt by recording four kills in the third set and six in the fourth. Between sets three and four Williams posted a .400 hit percentage and inserted herself into the team lead for kills with 13. Though on the scoreboard the Patriots couldn't keep up with the Explorers as they dropped the final two sets 25-16 and 25-19 respectively.
A quick turnaround for Mason presents itself as the Patriots return to action Saturday at 7 p.m. to welcome Duquesne for round two against the Dukes this regular season. Tickets can be purchased by clicking
here or calling (703) 993-3270.
NOTABLE STATS
- Friday marked the second time this season three Patriots recorded double-digit kills in a the same match.
- Emily Konchan tied her career high in kills with three. Friday marked the third time this season she achieved that feat.
- Jordan Glass picked up three blocks to increase her streak to 12 straight matches with a block.
