- George Mason falls to American in three straight sets; 25-15, 25-15, 25-14.
- Freshman Siron Hardy made her career debut for the Patriots. The outside hitter tallied 13 kills for 13 points for Mason.
- Sophomore Emily Konchan delivered as setter for the Patriots with 20 assists.
FINAL: MASON 0, AMERICAN 3 (PDF Box Score)
Siron Hardy – 13 kills (Match High);
Emily Konchan – 20 assists;
Catie Espinoza – nine digs.
Washington – George Mason University women's volleyball team dropped its season opener at American on Friday night. The Patriots battled hard but ultimately came up short to fall to the Eagles in three straight sets.
"Tonight was a good opportunity to give our freshmen a chance to play a conference champion in American," said Coach Ilkson. "There's things to work on, but we played hard and did some nice things tonight."
The Patriots debuted many new faces for the program, including outside hitter
Siron Hardy. Hardy led the Patriot force with 13 total kills on the night, for a hitting percentage of .152. Freshmen
Peyton Ehmke and
Marlanna Bozicevich played in all three sets in their career debuts, as well.
In the opening set, the Patriots took an early 4-0 lead, thanks to a service ace by
Emily Konchan and kill by junior
Bailey Williams. The first set saw three ties up until a score of 9-9. The Eagles then stayed in control for the remainder of the set – winning 25-15.
In the second set,
Siron Hardy continued to deliver as outside hitter, contributing four kills for the Patriots. American took an early set lead of 8-3; but Mason stuck around to close in on the Eagles' lead, 15-11. American finished the set on a four-point run – winning 25-15.
In the final set, Mason took an early lead of 7-6 thanks to a service ace by senior
Catie Espinoza. Espinoza notched five digs in the set, while Konchan tallied six assists for the Patriots. Although the set saw four ties and two lead changes, American took the final set, 25-14.
NOTABLE STATS
- Siron Hardy registered seven of her 13 kills during the opening set.
- Mason had its highest hitting percentage of .200 during the second set.
- The Eagles logged 11 blocks while the Patriots failed to tally one block in the match.
