FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's volleyball team battled one of the top teams in the conference all afternoon, but Loyola Chicago was able to hold off the Patriots for a 3-1 win.
 
Junior Camille Larkin broke into double-digit kills for the first time in her career, tallying a personal best 10 kills on 19 attempts with no errors for a .526 clip. The middle also notched a game-high five total blocks in an error-free game across the court.
 
Set one was all Ramblers (9-11, 7-2) as they jumped out to an early six-point lead that would last most of the set. The visitors used strong defense to limit Mason to .000 hitting while converting 13 kills of their own to cruise to a 25-19 win.
 
The Patriots (6-15, 2-7) flipped the script in the second frame, using several Loyola errors and six kills of their own to force a Ramblers' timeout leading 9-4. LUC scored the next three points, but back-to-back kills by Larkin gave Mason some breathing room. With Ewelina Gacek at the service line, the Patriots strung four points together to stretch their lead to as many as seven, 15-8. The teams traded points down the stretch, but Mason held off Loyola Chicago to even the match with a 25-20 win, led by four kills from Olyvia Kennedy.
 
The third set was a back-and-forth battle that featured seven ties to begin the frame. With the set tied at 10-all, Loyola Chicago would be the first team to break through, going on a short 4-0 run to force a Mason timeout. Down seven, Caroline Rodriguez began a 3-0 spurt for the Patriots, forcing the Ramblers to take a timeout of their own. Mason went on another 3-0 run on two kills and a block facing set point, but Loyola scored the final two points to win 25-21.
 
Both teams tallied 14 kills in the fourth set, but the Ramblers capitalized on six Mason hitting errors compared to their one to pull ahead. Loyola also found their groove at the service line with a game-high four service aces throughout the frame. Larkin and Nani Spaar led Mason with four kills each, but LUC took the set 25-18.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• Nani Spaar and Olyvia Kennedy joined Camille Larkin with double-figure kills as all three players tallied 10 kills on the afternoon
• Gabriella Gelfound was just one off her career-high of assists with 34, her first time hitting the 30-mark this season. The sophomore also added seven digs, five blocks and three kills 
• Gracie Halley led the Patriots with 10 kills and was one of five players with seven or more digs
• Four Patriots tallied a solo block, the second-most this season

 
UP NEXT
Mason will remain in Fairfax next weekend to welcome the Davidson Wildcats on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.