CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Patriots swept the Harvard Crimson in three sets on Friday night in the first out of two games. They will play each other again on Saturday at 4:00 PM.
The Patriots played great, only trailing once throughout the whole game. They dominated at the net, leading in kills (44-33) and blocks (11-2). The sets ended 25-22, 25-21 and 25-20.
Mason kicked-off the first with a four-point lead at 11-7 and then 12-8, but the Crimson came back and stole it at 15-16. That was the Crimson's only lead the entire game, and it didn't last. Kade McGovern gave up a service error the next point, followed by two aces from
Georgi Zahariev. A kill from
Omar Hoyos stretched the lead to three (19-16), and the Patriots then sealed up the set on a kill from
Chey Cooper (25-22).
The Patriots started fast in the second, building a 9-4 lead. The Crimson brought it to within two points (10-8), but the Patriots would go on another 4-0 run to stretch it to six at 18-12. Mason maintained the lead, and Hoyos finished off the set with a solo block (25-21).
The Crimson kept the third close for a moment (9-9), but another big run (6-0) set the Patriots apart (15-9). Mason sealed the game with a kill by Hoyos and a block from
Sam Peters and
Liam French (25-20).
By the Numbers
- Liam French led the Patriots in kills (17) and Zahariev led in assists (37) and aces (3)
- Sam Peters dominated with 7 blocks, while five other Patriots also tallied a block
- The Patriots posted their best hitting percentage of the season at (0.474%)
Up Next
The Patriots will play in the EIVA Conference tournament that kicks-off this Wednesday.
