Box Score
- Mason Defeats Loyola in a Five-Set Thriller; Bailey Williams with a match high 17 kills.
- Williams selected as All-Tournament, posting 3.08 kills per set.
- Mason wraps up non-conference play winning its last two matches.
FINAL: Mason 3, Loyola 2 (
Box Score)
Bailey Williams – 17 kills (Match High);
Emily Konchan – 47 assists (Match High);
Catie Espinoza – 24 digs (Match High).
FAIRFAX, Va. – Mason followed up its morning victory with another win in the night cap, this time defeating Loyola 3-2. The Patriots have now won two in a row and will shift their focus toward Atlantic 10 play. Sophomore outside hitter
Bailey Williams tied her career single-match kill total with 17.
"It was a real battle tonight and I'm so proud of how my team competed," head coach
Aylene Ilkson said. "It was a complete and total team effort with all the players who came into the match and I think that says a lot about what kind of team we are. I think we still have a lot to work on but this is a great push going into A-10 competition.
With the chance to sweep the Saturday doubleheader in front of them, George Mason came out firing in the first set posting a team attack percentage of .429. That stellar attack was led by Sophomore outside hitters
Bailey Williams and
Mikala Wells, each notching four kills in the set with Williams' coming on the minimum four attempts.
A 6-1 run midway through the set propelled the Patriots into control and they finished the job once the run gave them a 23-16 lead, winning the set 25-18. The aforementioned 6-1 run was anchored by two Williams kills and a Wells service ace.
In the following set Mason again controlled the tempo with sophomore middle blocker
Katrina Santos making her presence felt, recording four kills and a block in the set. Santos set a new single-match career high with 14 kills in the match. Late in the set with Mason ahead 20-18, the Patriots quickly extinguished any Greyhound comeback hope with a 5-0 run to clinch the second set.
After dropping the next two sets each by a score of 25-16, the Patriots regathered themselves in the do-or-die fifth set. Down 7-4 early, the turning point occurred thanks to a Santos kill that kick-started a 3-0 run that tied the match. With momentum on the Patriots side, the two teams traded points until Mason put the final nail in the coffin with two straight points to win the match.
The Patriots finish non-conference play 4-9, winning their last two games. A-10 play for George Mason begins with a four-game road stint that starts on September 23 in Pittsburgh against Duquesne.
- Freshman setter Emily Konchan one-ups her single-match assist career high she set this morning by notching 47 assists in the night cap against the Greyhounds.
- Sophomore middle blocker Katrina Santos logs 14 kills, marking a new single-match career high.
- Mason compiles six service aces compared to Loyola's three.
