Mason (4-7) vs. VCU (5-7)
WHEN: Friday, 5 p.m. & Saturday, 5 p.m.
WHERE: Recreation Athletic Complex; Fairfax, Va.
LIVE STATS: LINK
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
 
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University women's volleyball team will open Atlantic 10 Conference play this weekend when it welcomes the Rams of Virginia Commonwealth University to the RAC.
 
All A-10 match-ups will be played as two-match series this season with the exception of George Washington, which Mason will play as a home/away series on two Tuesdays in October.
 
In 2021, VCU was victorious over Mason twice, beating the Patriots 3-1 and 3-0. The Rams also lead 3-12 in conference play and 7-19 all-time over Mason. George Mason's last win came in the form of a 3-0 sweep on Nov. 3, 2018 at home.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• The Patriots are coming off of back-to-back wins over Maryland-Eastern Shore and Morgan State on Saturday and will look to carry that momentum into Friday's match-up.
• The middle blocker pair of graduate student Peyton Ehmke and sophomore Camille Larkin earned All-Tournament honors, racking up a combined 43 kills at a .410 clip and 16 blocks.
• Senior outside hitter Mujay Mambu led the Patriot offense over the weekend, averaging 2.09 kills/set and contributing four block assists.
• Defensively, senior Stephanie Der eclipsed 1,000 career digs by tallying 55 over the weekend. She also contributed three service aces and 16 assists.

 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The VCU Rams are off to a 5-7 start in 2022, with their last two victories coming in five-set, come-from-behind wins over Navy and UMBC. The Rams are led offensively by Qairo Bentley and Jasmine Knight, who have registered 133 and 114 kills, respectively. Knight and Sarah Stratton are leading the Rams at the net defensively, tallying 38 and 46 total blocks, respectively. As a team, VCU is hitting at a .154 clip while out-solo blocking their opponents 21-8. Crew Hoffmeier leads VCU with 3.67 digs/set while Taylor Aguano paces the offense with 5.44 assists/set.
 
UP NEXT
The Patriots will hit the road en route to Saint Louis, Mo. to take on the Saint Louis Billikens on Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.