American Americ 1-1,0-0 Patriot

George Mason GMU 1-0,0-0 Atlantic 10

American Americ

1-1,0-0 Patriot

Final

Aug. 28, 2021

George Mason GMU

1-0,0-0 Atlantic 10

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	F
American Americ	23	25	24	11	(1)
George Mason GMU	25	10	26	25	(3)

Box Score

Kennedy Leads Patriots in Season-Opening Win over American

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | 8/28/2021 2:51:00 PM

FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University women's volleyball team captured its first win of the 2021 season in commanding fashion.

Mason (1-0) defeated American (1-1) in four sets on Saturday morning in the Recreation Athletic Complex. The season-opening victory snapped an eight-match losing streak to the Eagles, dating back to 2009.

"Today was a great start to our season," said head coach Aylene Ilkson. "I was so proud of the women in our program and how they came together and fought for every point. Our serving proved to be a real asset for us and it was nothing less than exceptional from behind the line. American is a really challenging team to play against and I think we rose to the occasion. Even when they pushed us, we came together and found a way to win. I can't say enough about the hard work the team has put in all preseason and it really paid off today. I hope we can continue this momentum tomorrow against a very dynamic Howard team."

Freshman Olyvia Kennedy put on a show in her Mason debut with a match-high 19 kills at an efficient clip of .436.

Senior duo Katie Parmalee and Peyton Ehmke also aided the Patriot attack, finishing with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Senior Erin Derick dished out 40 assists to go along with six digs and three blocks in the win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Mason won its season opener for the first time since 2015.
The Patriots hit at a clip of .261 compared to American's mark of .165. Kennedy (.436), Parmalee (.429) and Ehmke (.370) all shined offensively for the Green & Gold.
Freshman Ewelina Gacek recorded three of Mason's five aces in the match. The rookie also added 12 digs and three kills in her Patriot debut.
Three Patriots recorded double-digit digs behind starting libero Stephanie Der's 16-dig effort. Katelyn Clarke added 10 on defense as well.
The first set saw 10 ties and four lead changes, but a block and kill by Ehmke willed the Patriots to the first-frame victory (25-23).
Mason fought off a large surge from AU to claim the third set, 26-24. The Eagles tied up the set at 24 before a kill by Kennedy and an error by AU decided the frame.
It was all Mason in the fourth and final set as the Patriots hit at a match-high .379 clip. The Patriots put down 13 kills, including five from Kennedy, on only two attacking errors.