IRVINE, Calif. – The George Mason women's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches to Boise State and Southern Utah on the final day of the UCI/Adidas Invitational in Irvine, Calif.
"This weekend took a lot out of our team and, although we didn't win any matches, we certainly learned a lot about ourselves," said head coach
Aylene Ilkson. "We had some solid moments during our matches, but we need to focus on getting back to the fundamentals and playing our game from start to finish. We will get back in the gym and get to work on Monday."
Mason (2-3) began the day with a straight-set defeat to Boise State (5-1). The Patriots could not overcome early deficits and long scoring runs in the loss.
In its following match, Mason dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Southern Utah (2-3). The Patriots looked to be in control with a 2-0 match lead, but offensive miscues allowed the Thunderbirds to pull off the reverse sweep.
Senior
Peyton Ehmke and sophomore
Katelyn Clarke were named to the UCI/Adidas Invitational All-Tournament Team for their performances over the weekend. Ehmke averaged 1.82 kills and 0.82 blocks per set while Clarke averaged 2.73 kills and 2.64 digs per set. Clarke notched a pair of double-doubles on Saturday against Boise State (10k/10d) and Southern Utah (14k/12d).
In addition, freshman
Morgan Nguyen shined for the Patriots. The defensive specialist posted 10 digs against Boise State and 12 digs against SUU. She also added four service aces, including two against the Broncos.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: BOISE STATE
- Katelyn Clarke posted her first double-double of the season, third of her career, with 10 kills and 10 digs against the Broncos. Setter Erin Derick also notched a double-double with 27 assists and 10 digs – the 15th of her career.
- Boise State outhit Mason .292 to .089. The Patriots had 24 attacking errors compared to Boise State's six.
- Boise State ranked fifth in the nation in blocking last season with 2.90 blocks per set. The Broncos posted 13 total blocks in the sweep.
- Five Patriots finished with double-digit digs: Ewelina Gacek (11), Nguyen (10), Marlanna Bozicevich (10), Clarke (10) and Derick (10). Mason posted 51 digs to Boise State's mark of 47.
- The Patriots struggled on serve-receive, committing seven service errors and 10 reception errors.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: SOUTHERN UTAH
- Mason hit .273 in the first set (14-5-33) and .379 in the second set (14-3-29) to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
- The Patriots committed 16 total errors in the third set, including 10 attacking miscues. SUU capitalized on the errors to take the stanza, 25-20.
- SUU ended the fourth set on a 9-2 scoring run to take the frame, 25-20. With the match tied at two sets apiece, the Thunderbirds went on to defeat the Patriots 15-7 in the fifth set.
- Gacek recorded her first career double-double with a season-best 11 kills to go along with 11 digs.
- The Patriots posted a season-high 9.5 blocks, including five from Ehmke, but committed a season-high six blocking errors.
- Senior Katie Parmalee put down 10 kills at a .600 clip.
UP NEXT
The Patriots will host the George Mason Invitational from Sept. 10-12 at the Recreation Athletic Complex. Mason will welcome five teams for a nine-match tournament.
