FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason men's volleyball team (7-5, 2-1) fell to conference opponent Harvard in four sets (21-25, 24-26, 25-16, 25-17) on Saturday afternoon inside the RAC.
The Crimson took the first two sets, propelling their offense to earn a hitting percentage of .288 on the day. The performance helped to hand Mason its first EIVA conference loss of the season and snap their three-game winning streak.
"Hats off to Harvard, they played a very good match today," head coach Jay Hosack said. "We just did not execute the way we need to in order to beat them. These two matches show that anybody can beat anybody on any given night."
A pair of seniors were bright spots for Mason in the loss.
Senior Bryce Gatling earned a career best 16 kills on 24 attempts, while fellow senior Sam Greenslade tallied double-digit digs (13) for the fourth time this season.
With the Patriots' lineup becoming ever-changing, players like Greenslade and Gatling have had to embrace new roles.
"We are dealing with changing lineups right now," redshirt junior Bradley Creamer said. "This weekend, as a whole we have developed this trust between all of us and I think we turned a corner even though we did not get the result we wanted. That trust will help us moving forward."
The Patriots will continue on, hosting a pair of conference games before heading on the road to Pennsylvania for more EIVA play.
"Harvard is in the mix just like the rest of us," Hosack stated. "Conference play is going to be fun this year, but there won't be any easy matches and we have to start practicing like that."
UP NEXT
The schedule gets no lighter as NJIT and No. 11 Princeton visit Fairfax next weekend in Mason's upcoming home stand, Feb. 21-22 inside the RAC.
