Mason (4-5) vs. Middle Tennessee State (5-3)
WHEN: Friday, 12 p.m.
WHERE: The RAC; Fairfax, Va.
LIVE STATS: LINK
LIVE VIDEO: LINK
Mason (4-5) vs. UAlbany (2-7)
WHEN: Friday 7 p.m.
WHERE: The RAC; Fairfax, Va.
LIVE STATS: LINK
LIVE VIDEO: LINK
Mason (4-5) vs. Seattle (3-5)
WHEN: Saturday, 2 p.m.
WHERE: The RAC; Fairfax, Va.
LIVE STATS: LINK
LIVE VIDEO: LINK
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's volleyball team is set to host the Patriot Invite this weekend on Sept. 15-16 to wrap up their non-conference schedule. The Patriots will welcome Middle Tennessee State, UAlbany and Seattle to Fairfax.
Mason will open the tournament on Friday at noon against Middle Tennessee, followed by a 7 p.m. matchup with UAlbany. The hosts will wrap up their play with a 2 p.m. match against Seattle. The three matches will mark the first meeting between Mason and all three opponents.
The last time out, the Patriots (4-5) went 2-1 for the second-straight weekend at the Mason Invite. The hosts fell to undefeated Brown, 1-3, and closed the weekend with back-to-back sweeps over Robert Morris and Radford. Graduate student
Nani Spaar and junior
Olyvia Kennedy earned All-Tournament honors for their stellar performances. Spaar averaged 4.50 kills/set and 2.00 digs/set over three matches. She also matched her career-high of 19 kills against Robert Morris, committing just two errors for a .515 clip. Kennedy averaged 2.80 kills/set at a team-best .361, including a season-best 12 kills against Brown.
PATRIOT POINTS
- Spaar eclipsed the 100-kill mark over the weekend, and has already surpassed her season-total from a year ago. Her 3.85 kill/set currently rank fifth in the Atlantic 10 and her 19 kills in the three-set match against Robert Morris on Friday is the top mark in the conference.
- Ewelina Gacek is also having a stellar season and ranks second on the team with 89 kills while averaging 3.20 points/set. Meanwhile, Camille Larkin has registered 47 kills at a team-best .350 clip
- Defensively, the middle pair of Larkin and Chelsea Colter lead Mason in blocking with 26.0 and 27.0 blocks, respectively
- As a team, the Patriots' defense has been solid among Atlantic 10 members, ranking second in opponent service aces (1.18/set) and third in digs (15.32/set)
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Middle Tennessee State is off to a strong start this season at 5-3. After starting the season at 0-3, the Blue Raiders have rattled off five-straight victories, with their most notable coming on the road at then-No. 25 Auburn. The last time out at Auburn's Tiger Invitational, MTSU followed up their first ranked win since 2010 with wins over Mercer and Charleston Southern to win the Invitational.
The Blue Raiders are led by two-time C-USA Setter of the Week and current national assist leader Taylor Eisert. She averages 11.97 assists per game and is third on the squad with 2.10 digs per set. Offensively, Kayla Henley and Adri Rhoda lead MTSU with over 3.00 kills per set. Defensively, Kaylee Oscarson leads the team with 24.0 blocks and Erin Eisenhart leads wth 104 digs.
UAlbany has started the season at 2-7, including 1-2 at last weekend's Colgate Tournament. The Great Danes downed in-state foe Cornell and fell to Colgate and West Virginia. UAlbany's other victory of the season came in the opener to the Syracuse Orange, 3-0.
The Great Danes are paced offensively by junior setter Zosia Szczotkiewicz, who was named the America East setter of the Week last week. She tallies 8.56 assists/set and is third on the team with 2.19 digs/set. Offensively, Shynelle Woroniuk leads the team with 3.08 kills/set. On the defensive side, Sthefany Carvalho leads with 93 digs and Gabriella Karman leads with 20.0 blocks.
Seattle enters the Patriot Invite with a 3-5 record. The last time out, the Redhawks lost back-to-back matches against Montana State on the road. Seattle is familiar with road and neutral matches however, as it has yet to play a home match in 2023. Seattle's wins have come against Idaho, UC Riverside and Nevada.
The Redhawks are led by Arianna Bilby on offense with 4.21 kills/set. She is the lone player to eclipse the 100-kill mark so far this season, and is also second on the squad with eight service aces. Elif Teksoy paces the offense with 276 total assists. Defensively, Marley Hargrave leads Seattle with 19.0 blocks and Katlyn Sipes leads with 109 digs.
UP NEXT
The Patriots will kick off Atlantic 10 play on the road, traveling to Rhode Island to take on the Rams on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.
