- Hayden Wager records career high 16 kills, two service aces and 18.0 points in Mason's 3-1 loss to #7 Loyola-Chicago.
- Christian Malias and Sam Greenslade reach double-digit kills, logging 12 and 11 respectively.
- Malias ties season high in total blocks in a match with five (2-3-5).
FINAL: #7 Loyola-Chicago 3, Mason 1 (
PDF Box Score)
Hayden Wagner – 16 kills (Match High);
Brian Negron – 42 assists;
Christian Malias – 9 digs.
CHICAGO – The George Mason men's volleyball team looked to kick off the two-match road trip on a good note against #7 Loyola-Chicago at Gentile Arena. Despite recording more kills, service aces and blocks than the Ramblers, the Patriots fell 3-1.
"Although we didn't win, I thought the team that we have been seeing in practice all fall was back tonight," head coach
Jay Hosack said. "Our first ball contact was strong, and we held their top players to a minimum. Our players played tough and through sickness, and that speaks volumes to our grittiness. I look forward to tomorrow's match."
Hayden Wagner led the Patriots' attack with a career night by logging 16 kills with 18.0 points. It was the second time in his career that he recorded double-digit kills and led the team in that department. Wagner's two service aces also marked a single-match career high for the York, Pa. native.
Additional notable performances from the pin hitters highlighted
Christian Malias with 12 kills on 24 attempts (.333 hit percentage), and
Sam Greenslade with 11 kills on 20 attempts (.350 hit percentage).
Loyola-Chicago recorded a service ace right out of the gate and gave them a lead they held on to for most of the set. The Patriots benefited from three
Hayden Wagner kills on just five attempts, but found themselves down 13-7 early, forcing Hosack to use a timeout. The Patriots countered with a 3-0 run of their own to bring the score back to 13-10 with Wagner continuing his impressive first set. After the aforementioned 3-0 run, he led the Patriots on another 3-0 run that saw him pick up a kill and a service ace to force Loyola-Chicago to use a timeout. With the 15-14 score favoring the home team, Mason chipped away and tied the score at 17-17 but Loyola-Chicago answered with a 3-0 run prompting another Patriots timeout. Mason had its own answer with back-to-back kills from
Sam Greenslade and
Christian Malias out of the timeout, but Loyola-Chicago caught fire and went on a 5-1 run to take the set 25-20.
The Patriots came out aggressive in the second set, obtaining an early 4-2 lead with kills from Greenslade, Malias and
Langston Payne. After some back-and-forth action leading to a 9-7 Ramblers lead, Wagner recorded three straight kills immediately after, giving Mason an 11-9 lead to force the Ramblers to take a timeout. However, Loyola-Chicago negated the progress with a 4-0 of their own forcing Mason call timeout themselves. The scoring runs would continue to happen in bunches, beginning with a 4-0 and a 3-0 run that was headlined by services aces from Wagner and Malias, taking Mason's biggest lead of the match to that point at 19-15. The Ramblers narrowed the gap to 21-19, but the Patriots exploded for four straight points, a run that concluded with two straight service aces by Greenslade. The 25-19 set win sent Patriots went to the intermission tied 1-1, seeing Wagner leading the squad with 10 kills.
The third set saw the points come in pairs as Loyola-Chicago and Mason each went on 3-0 runs to make the score favor the Ramblers early. After a Payne service ace gave Mason a 9-8 lead, Loyola-Chicago collected six of the next seven points to grab a 14-10 lead and cause Mason to use a timeout. The Ramblers continued to be in control following the pause in the action, not letting their lead slip below three through the following stretch to take a 21-15 lead. After another Patriots timeout, the Green and Gold chipped away at the lead led with two straight kills from Wagner, but it was too little, too late as Loyola-Chicago survived set number three by a score of 25-21.
With the Patriots looking to stave off elimination, the set began with the teams trading points. As the score favored LUC at 7-6, the Ramblers went on the first 3-0 scoring run of the set making Hosack take an early timeout. It didn't get any easier as Loyola-Chicago extended its lead to five at 15-10. The early match trends continued into set number four with Mason narrowing the gap, this time tying the match at 18-18 after being down as many as five moments earlier. The two teams traded points to the tune of 21-21 before Loyola-Chicago closed things out taking four of the next five points winning 25-22.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Friday marked the first time the Patriots had three players with 10+ kills in a match [Wagner (16), Malias (12), Greenslade (11)] since Mar. 4, 2017 vs. Coker.
- The Patriots as a team compiled 13.25 kills per set, their highest single-match total on the young season.
- Moving back to setter, Brian Negron logged 42 assists for his 26th career match of 40 or more.
