FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's volleyball team swept its season-opening weekend with a 3-0 win against Howard on Sunday afternoon at the RAC.
Mason is off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2015. The Patriots also snapped a four-match losing streak to the Bison, dating back to that same year.
"Today was definitely a test to see if we could come out and play aggressive, smart volleyball on back-to-back days, and we rose to the occasion," said head coach
Aylene Ilkson. "We have spent a lot of time serving and passing in practice and thankfully we are starting to see it pay off. I think being aggressive from the service line is a key focus for our program and something we will continue to work on. Our student-athletes are putting forth their best effort and focus right now. I just am so grateful for their hard work and am excited to see what this group is going do over these next couple months."
Mason's serve-receive proved to be the deciding factor as the Patriots posted 11 service aces in the sweep.
Sophomore
Katelyn Clarke tied her career high in service aces with five. With Clarke behind the service line, Mason went on a pair of scoring runs in the first and third sets, including a 6-0 spurt to end the match.
In addition, junior
Stephanie Der, freshman
Ewelina Gacek and Clarke anchored Mason's back row. Der finished with a match-high 16 digs while Gacek and Clarke added 11 and nine digs, respectively.
Both Gacek (7-for-7) and Clarke (18-for-18) were perfect on service reception.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The Patriots used a balanced scoring attack with five Patriots registering five-plus kills in the match. Peyton Ehmke led all Mason attackers with nine kills at a .304 clip. Katie Parmalee (7), Gacek (7), Clarke (5) and Olyvia Kennedy (5) aided the Patriot offense as well.
- Senior setter Erin Derick provided an all-around performance. She posted 23 assists, eight digs, three aces and a block in the win.
- The Patriots recorded 51 digs compared to the Bison's mark of 41.
- Mason hit at a match-high .371 in the final frame (14-1-35). Ehmke tallied five kills in the set for a clip of .571. The Bison hit just .172 in the stanza (7-2-29).
- Serving played a large role for both teams on Sunday. Howard had 14 service errors and only four aces in the match.
UP NEXT
Mason will head to the West Coast for the UCI/Adidas Invitational. The Patriots will face the host Anteaters (Sept. 3) along with Boise State (Sept. 4) and Southern Utah (Sept. 4).
