FAIRFAX, Va. – Seniors Jack Wilson, Johnny Gomez, and Radoslav Popov all had double-digit performances against Princeton on Senior Night, but that was mere consolation for George Mason University's men's volleyball team in a 3-1 defeat to the Tigers on Saturday night.  

Princeton's win moved the Tigers (11-12, 7-5 EIVA) to third place in the EIVA standings while also ending Mason's (13-12, 6-6 EIVA) five-match win streak and dropping the Patriots out of the top four going into next weekend's final regular season matches.

"Hats off to Princeton, they played really well tonight," Mason head coach Jay Hosack said. "They put on a really good serving clinic and blocked [much better] than us."

"It was a hard-fought match, we just didn't have enough in us," he added.

Opposite hitter Wilson finished his RAC career with match- and season-high 22 kills on .275 hitting. Outside hitter Popov had double digits for the first time in nearly two months and finished the match with 12 kills on .345 attack efficiency. The Razlog, Bulgaria native was also credited with two of Mason's three service ace. Overall, the Patriots and Princeton both hit .263, even though Mason had nine more kills – 54-45.

Once again Gomez was above everyone else in defense with 12 digs, two more than his libero counterpart, who led Princeton with 10 digs. Thus, Gomez has had double digits in the last four matches and in five of the last six. He also had three assists on the offensive end, which was the most in the contest by a non-setter.

Princeton landed the first punch in the match by winning the opening set 25-22. Nothing separated the two teams at 16-16, but the Tigers went on a 5-1 run – climaxed with a block Jonah May and Junior Oboh – to force Mason's second timeout at 21-17. A kill by redshirt sophomore middle blocker Langston Payne brought the Patriots within one at 22-21 and reminded the RAC patrons of Mason's impressive first-set comeback against NJIT Friday, but the Tigers only allowed one additional point and comfortably closed the set with a block by May and George Huhmann.

Mason turned it up offensively in the second set and were led by Popov with six kills and Wilson with five kills – the two combined for .625 hitting in the set – to tie the match after a 25-17 triumph in the stanza. An early 6-1 run by Mason allowed the Patriots to build a comfortable lead with Princeton using both of its timeouts while still in single digits, 12-7. The Tigers cut the deficit to three at 15-12 with a kill by Parker Dixon, who led them with 15 kills on the night, but were outscored in a 2:1 ratio for the remainder of the set. Mason grabbed its last four points on kills from either Wilson or Popov and outblocked the Tigers 3-1 in the set for the first and only time on Saturday.

Both teams showed desire and determination to win the key third set. Princeton enjoyed a better start to it and led by as many as four before another Wilson kill cut the lead to one in mid-set, 15-14. The Tigers won seven of the following 10 points to force the Patriots' second timeout with a kill by Huhmann (.412 hitting) who, along with Oboh (.529 hitting), finished the match with 10 kills. Facing another triple set point at 24-21, Mason made it clear that it won't go down without a fight and clawed its way back to 24-23 to force a Princeton timeout, but were then caught off guard by May's only kill of the match, which closed the set at 25-23.
It was not hard to see how much the third set's result affected the momentum in the match with Princeton starting the fourth and final set on a 9-2 run thanks to four blocks, all with Huhmann's involvement. The six-foot-eleven freshman finished the match with match-high eight blocks, twice as many as Mason's blocking leader Payne. Blocking was one of the deciding factors in the set – and match – with all 7.5 team blocks in the fourth coming from the Tigers' side of the net.

Successful serving sequences by Payne and sophomore setter Justin Coleman got Mason back in the set at 11-10, but a kill by Kendall Ratter (6 kills, 1 ace, 3 blocks) and his service sequence sparked an 8-0 Tiger run that quickly dismantled Mason's momentum. Neither Popov nor Wilson or anyone else could help to a significant run before a kill by Oboh finalized Princeton's win at 25-16 to spoil the special night of Mason's seniors.

NEXT ON THE COURT

Mason's postseason fate will be decided on the final weekend of regular season, when the Patriots make the toughest EIVA trip possible to face top two teams Saint Francis (Pa.) and Penn State. Hosack's men need at least one win in Pennsylvania to hope for a chance to defend their EIVA title in two weeks.