- Mason knocked off No. 11 Ohio State 3-1 on Friday night in Columbus, Ohio.
- Junior Hayden Wagner tabbed 17 kills on a .303 clip. Senior Kyle Barnes added 10 kills while junior Sam Greenslade notched nine kills in the victory.
- The victory snaps Ohio State's 16-match winning streak over the Patriots, dating back to 2010.
FINAL: Mason 3, Ohio State 1 (PDF Box Score)
Wagner – 17 kills; Velez – 31 assists; Velez – 11 digs
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The George Mason men's volleyball team knocked off No. 11 Ohio State, 3-1, on Friday night. The Patriots improve to 4-1 on the season while the Buckeyes drop to 2-3.
The victory snaps Ohio State's 16-match winning streak over the Patriots, dating back to 2010. Mason's final game at St. John Arena will go down as a win as the Buckeyes move to a new facility next season.
"Could not be more proud of our boys tonight," said head coach
Jay Hosack. "Ohio State is a very good team, and we proved tonight that we can compete with the best of them."
Both offenses came out hot to start the match. Mason hit an impressive .542 in the opening set while the Buckeyes hit .424. The Patriots tabbed 13 kills on no attacking errors behind Wagner's six kills in the set. The deciding factor proved to be behind the service line as OSU tallied seven service errors compared to Mason's three. The Patriots claimed the first set, 25-22.
In the second set of play, Mason struggled offensively, hitting -.037 in the set. The Buckeyes took the lead early on and never looked back. Ultimately it was too late for a Patriot comeback as OSU claimed the set, 25-19.
The Patriots put the second set behind them and came out with vengeance in the third set. Wagner made his presence known early, tabbing five kills for a Mason lead of 8-5. Barnes also stepped up for the Patriots, notching four kills in the set on a .667 clip. The Green & Gold went on to take a 2-1 lead in the match after winning the third, 25-21.
In the fourth and final set of play, the Patriots dominated on all ends of the court. On the offensive side, the Patriots hit .529 with Barnes and redshirt senior
Langston Payne tabbing three kills each. On the defensive end, senior
Will Calaman helped Mason hold a 9-5 advantage in digs while two blocks by redshirt sophomore
Jack Reese gave Mason a 3-0 advantage in blocks. Ohio State struggled offensively, hitting a set-low -.037 in the fourth. The Patriots claimed the final set 25-11 to pull off the upset.
NOTABLE STATS
- Mason hit a set-high .542 in the opening set of play with 13 kills and zero attacking errors.
- The Patriots had three players hit over .300 in the match: Wagner (.303), Barnes (.381) and Greenslade (.353).
- Mason held the advantage in service aces (6-2) with senior Justin Coleman contributing two.
- Redshirt sophomore Luis Velez not only led the team in assists (31) but also had an 11-save effort tonight to lead the team in digs.
UP NEXT
Mason will open conference play tomorrow (Jan. 19) at Charleston (W.Va.) at 6 p.m. at Wehrle Innovation Center.
