- No. 13 George Mason fell to No. 11 Ball State in its first five-set match of the season.
- The Patriots drop to 8-2 overall for its first loss in over five matches.
- Hayden Wagner tabbed the first double-double of his career with 20 kills and a career-high 11 digs.
FINAL: Mason 2, Ball State 3 (PDF Box Score)
Hayden Wagner – 20 kills; Justin Coleman – 27 assists; Kyle Barnes – 13 digs
MUNCIE, Ind. – In its first five-set match of the season, the No. 13 George Mason men's volleyball team came up short against No. 11 Ball State on Sunday night in Muncie, Ind. The Patriots suffer their first loss in over five matches to drop to 8-2 overall.
"Hats off to Ball State, they played a phenomenal match tonight," said head coach
Jay Hosack. "We had a chance to close it out in three, and just did not close strong. It's a learning moment for our team."
The Patriots get back into conference play next weekend with a pair of matches against NJIT (Feb. 15) and Princeton (Feb. 16).
Junior
Hayden Wagner tabbed his first career double-double with 20 kills and a career-high 11 digs. Junior
Sam Greenslade added 14 kills in the match. On defense, redshirt sophomore
Jack Reese proved to be a force at the net for the second night in a row, collecting a team-high five blocks. He also notched a season-high 10 kills on a .429 clip. Senior
Kyle Barnes reached a new career-high in digs with 13 while adding nine kills.
In the opening set of play, a kill by Barnes pushed Mason out to a 12-9 lead. However, a three point scoring run by the Cardinals evened the set 13 all. Later in the set, Ball State would extend its lead to three, 22-19. Mason would not back down so easily, scoring three straight points out of a timeout. It would take extra points to decide the first set. A block by
Bryce Gatling and
Jack Reese would give Mason the set win, 29-27. The set win marked the ninth consecutive set win for the Patriots.
In the second set, the roles reversed for the two teams. Mason jumped out to an early 7-4 lead after Greenslade's seventh kill of the match. The attack continued for the Patriots as back to back kills for Reese and Barnes extended Mason's lead, 21-17. This time, Ball State would make the late run, scoring five straight points to lead 25-24. The second set would ultimately fall in favor of the Cardinals, winning 29-27.
Mason came out with vengeance in the third set. A three point scoring run by the Patriots helped push their lead to four, 18-14. Thanks to a late 8-1 run, Mason secured the third set victory, 25-17.
Both teams battled back and forth in the fourth set with Mason holding a slim advantage at the media timeout, 15-14. However, a four point scoring run by the Cardinals gave BSU the 21-18 advantage. Ultimately, the fourth set would go to the Cardinals, 25-20.
In the fifth and decisive set, Mason kept the game close in the early stages. However as the team exchanged sides in the set, the favor fell to the Cardinals. Ball State finished the set on a 4-1 run to win, 15-11.
NOTABLE STATS
- Ball State tabbed 21 service errors compared to Mason's 11. However, the Cardinals collected six service aces to Mason's one.
- Mason was outblocked by Ball State 12 to 8.5
- Wagner notched his ninth straight game with double-digit kills.
UP NEXT
Mason concludes its four-game road swing with a pair of EIVA matches against NJIT (Feb. 15) and Princeton (Feb. 16).
