By Hogan LePore, GoMason.com student sports information writer

Few players can follow in the footsteps of an all-conference player, especially a young competitor still looking to fit into collegiate play. However, that has been the surprising narrative for sophomore Hayden Wagner this season.

The opposite hitter has posted team highs in points (214.5), kills (171) and service aces (25) so far this season, with 33 blocks on the defensive side of the net, ranking third on the team for rejections.

His performance follows in the footsteps of former Mason men's volleyball great Jack Wilson. Wilson, who was awarded the 2017 First Team All-EIVA honor and led the Green and Gold in five offensive categories last season – kills, kills per set, attempts, serving aces and points, graduated in 2017, leaving a void needed to be filled.

Wagner spoke on how Wilson's leadership helped him prepare to take over.

"He was a great leader," Wagner said. "Showing me the position, showing me the ropes of the opposite, because I never really played that position in high school."

The York, Pa. native expanded on what it meant to have a great player like Wilson in front of him, showing the then-freshman the ins and outs of the opposite hitter position.

"[Wilson] was more of a visual teacher,'" Wagner said. "I was kind of just watching him and seeing what he could do on the court and trying to implement that into my game. Watching him play at such a high level last year has really helped me this year and will continue to help me moving forward."

This experience has seemed to work for the sophomore, as Wagner has already eclipsed the number of sets played from last season this season.

The development can also be seen in Wagner's trophy case, as the opposite hitter has already won multiple EIVA Player of the Week awards so far this season. Wagner described how these awards are a real testament to the men around him.

"I would not be able to get individual accolades without Brian [Negron] putting up good sets, without Johnny [Gomez] getting good digs, without our passers, in general, making good passes," Wagner said. "Yeah, it is an individual accolade, but it shows the whole team is working in sync and how we are supposed to and I just happen to be the one producing that day, or week."

Ultimately, Wagner contributes his success this season not only to his teammates, but also his own process and progression.

"Last year was kind of figuring myself out in the college level," Wagner stated. "This year has been more settling myself down and finding my groove, finding my rhythm. That has probably been the big difference from last year because I never had that opportunity my freshman year. So that has been my focus this year, finding my rhythm and helping the team win."

Teammate Brian Negron, who reached 3,000 career assists earlier in the season, credits Wagner's changed mindset to his recent success.

"I think he has really matured in the mental aspect of his game," Negron said. "It is really easy this year to sit down and talk to him about his game and I think that has helped him to get better every day because he has more input on his game."

Head coach Jay Hosack has seen great improvement in Wagner's serving this year and the stats show that, as Wagner leads the Patriots in service aces. With the serving success, Wagner is getting more attention across the EIVA, and Hosack has been impressed with how the sophomore has been able to play with the added pressure.

"The real challenge I tell my players is, 'it is easy to fly under the radar when nobody knows who you are, but the great players perform well when everyone knows about you,'" Hosack stated. "So far, Hayden has done pretty well with that."

"You always see little glimmers here and there, the reality is how often are they doing it," Hosack said about the sophomore. "When you see him play against great teams and he's hitting .400 and above, that's ridiculous."

With only 11 matches remaining in the regular season, the Patriot men are currently 10-7 overall and undefeated in EIVA play, placing Mason in first and two games ahead of Penn State and Harvard (5-2) in the loss column. Wagner leads the EIVA with 3.64 kills per set and is second in service aces per set with 0.53.

Looking forward, the Patriots have six more conference games and three west coast opponents, including games against California State University Northridge (CSUN), UCLA and University of California-Irvine. These non-conference matches will be a good test for Wagner, as the opposite hitter has only played one set against any of the three schools.

Wagner and his teammates hope this last stretch of games is not the last bit of success they will see in 2018, as the team looks to get back into the NCAA Tournament, and Wagner realizes he will be a big factor moving forward.

"With [Wilson] leaving, I knew I had to step up," Wagner stated. "I know our team's goal is to host the EIVA's and then move past that and move into National Championship play, and then past that."