CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – For the second time in the last four matches, George Mason University's men's volleyball team led by two sets but did not come away as victor, this time falling at EIVA rival Harvard on Saturday night.

The defeat is fifth consecutive against the Crimson in regular season and fourth consecutive for Mason in 2017. It also ended the Patriots' 12-match win streak against EIVA opposition, dating back to March 4 last year. The Patriots have not lost five-straight matches since the beginning of the 2015 campaign.

MATCH NOTES

-The two teams came with a winless combined record (0-3) in five-setters in 2017. With the win, Harvard improved to 1-2 in such matches while Mason fell to 0-2 after the home loss to Loyola Chicago.
-The final score spoiled six career-high performances on Mason's side of the net. Freshman middle blocker Bryce Gatling made his first collegiate start a quite memorable one and finished with 13 kills on .632 hitting. The Norfolk, Va. native also racked up career-best five blocks. Gatling's partner in the middle, redshirt sophomore Langston Payne, followed suite and set multiple career-high numbers as well with 11 kills and five digs. Junior setter Brian Negron had 59 assists, which was two more than his previous best and six more than his combined total for the previous two matches. The final career-best achievement was sophomore outside hitter Kyle Barnes' 11 kills.
-Senior outside hitter Radoslav Popov led five Patriots in double digits, which also included redshirt senior opposite hitter Jack Wilson (11 kills, 4 digs, 3 blocks), with match-best 18 kills on .350 hitting.
-Johnny Gomez's 16 digs were most by any player in the contest. Mason's senior libero returned to the lineup after missing the matches at Ball State and Fort Wayne due to flu. Saturday's performance was season-best for him.
-Harvard's freshman Erik Johnsson continued the impressive start to his college career with 13 kills as well – team-best – but could not match Gatling's productivity and hit nevertheless significant .321. Brad Gretsch (6 digs, 5 blocks) also finished in double digits with 12 kills.
-Mason had a total of 19 kills more than its opponent (66-47) and had a proportionately equal number of errors, but the Crimson made up for those with fantastic defense at the net which resulted in 19 team blocks, 10 more than the Patriots. Five Harvard players had at least five blocks in the match, but no one came even close to Riley Moore's (5 kills, .667 hitting) 12 blocks.  Each team recorded three solo blocks, Mason's ones coming from Payne, Barnes, and Wilson.
-The Patriots wasted twice as many points from service errors, 24-12.

HOW IT HAPPENED

-Harvard responded to an attack error by Casey White (7 kills, 5 blocks) with a kill by Trevor Dow (2 kills) to tie first set at 15 all and leave its resolution for the final 10 points. After having trailed 5-2 early on – the largest margin in the set thus far – Mason grabbed its own three-point lead at 19-16 when Wilson and Gatling blocked White. The scenario was repeated on the following play and was followed by a kill from Popov and an ace by Negron which grew the lead to six, 22-16. Wilson's solo block put Mason in a set point situation at 24-17 and the Patriots closed the set on their second attempt with a kill by Gatling, 25-18.

-The three-point lead that one of Negron's two kills gave Mason at 10-7 was the largest in favor of any team in the second set. As both teams entered double digits, Harvard used service errors from its opponent and a kill by Gretsch to go on a mini run and take its largest lead, 15-13. It did not last long because a kill by Payne was followed with two by Popov for a 3-0 run that put the Patriots back in the driver's seat, 16-15. A block by Moore and White managed to even it out one last time at 18 all, but once Mason went up by three again at 21-18, the Patriots demonstrated flawless side-out play and closed the set at 25-21. Gatling had three of the Patriots' last four points in the set.

-The incredibly close third set broke open for the first time when a kill from Johnsson followed up a Gretsch-Moore block on freshman outside hitter Hayden Wagner to put Harvard two points to the good, 18-16. After a few minutes of successful side-out play from both sides, Mason managed to tie the score at 21 all with a Payne kill and a ball handling error from the Crimson's setter Marko Kostich (36 assists, 6 blocks, 6 digs). The teams were all square at 22 all as well but Harvard showed greater desire to win the set and scored three unanswered points to stay in the match, 25-22.

-Mason's head coach Jay Hosack had to call two timeouts in quick succession with Harvard leading by three in midset (15-12) and then by five (18-13) as the fourth set was approaching its closing stage. A solo block by Specter Scott (3 kills, 5 blocks) retained the status quo at 21-16 as the Crimson comfortably crept toward their goal of further extending the match, but the worst for them was yet to come. Mason won five of the seven successive points and came within two on a service ace by Payne at 23-21. Harvard responded with a yet another successful link-up by White and Moore at the net, but Gatling and Negron blocked White  on the following play and then a kill from Wilson made it 24-23 and forced a Crimson timeout. After tense 75 seconds in each huddle, Mason gave the set away in the most anti-climactic way possible – a service error and 25-23 Harvard.

-Just like the previous four sets, Harvard took a 1-0 lead in the fifth set with a kill by Marko Kostich. A bad set by White gave Mason a 2-1 lead but the momentum stayed with Harvard for the entire set. An ace by Johnsson gave the Crimson their first five-point lead at 9-4. A kill by Gatling brought Mason as close as it was at 11-8 but Harvard was flawless in attack, hitting .538 as a team in the set, and completed the comeback with a kill by Johnsson at 15-10.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

"We came out strong and didn't make many mistakes. Then we took our foot off the gas and started going away from what was working." – Mason head coach Jay Hosack

"The bad thing is that we lost to a good team that we were up 2-0 against. The good thing is that the fight that our boys had from last year, and from the fall, is back and that is something we can rally around."

NEXT ON THE COURT

Mason will have another chance to end their negative regular-season run against the Crimson on Sunday. First serve in the Patriots' first Sunday contest of the season will be at 4 p.m.