LONG BEACH, Calif. – George Mason University's men's volleyball team showed tremendous character Saturday to earn a remarkable victory in the Active Ankle Challenge by sweeping No. 11 Cal State Northridge.

With its first victory over a ranked opponent this season, Mason provided a more-than-proper response to Friday's heavy loss to No. 2 Long Beach State.

Despite the final set score, the match at the iconic Walter Pyramid was a hard-fought battle from start to end. Six points were all that separated Mason and CSUN on the night as the Patriots won each of the sets with a two-point margin. It took extra points to determine a winner in the first two sets – 27-25 and 26-24, respectively – and the third came to end with the narrowest possible margin within regulation, 25-23.

"Our team showed resilience tonight and just flat out competed," Mason head coach Jay Hosack said after his first win over MPSF opposition since he took over the program. "I am proud of them for responding after the prior night's performance."

Redshirt senior opposite hitter Jack Wilson returned to his normal self after a slow night against LBSU and paced the Patriots with 19 kills, two more than what the entire team had against Beach. The Patriots' captain had five of Mason's seven service aces and contributed 3 block assists and a dig defensively for match-high 25 points.

The final stats told the story of the contested nature of the match with four of the major statistics being decided by three or fewer in favor of one team: kills (39-38 Mason), assists (38-36 Mason), digs (17-14 CSUN) and blocks (10-9.5 CSUN). On the other hand, Mason dominated the aces category with the Matadors picking up only two.

NEXT ON THE COURT

The Patriots will now have a day of rest and practice before they complete their California adventure with a match at No. 14 USC on Monday.