FAIRFAX, Va. – Despite a career day for freshman
Caroline Rodriguez, Mason dropped two matches to Middle Tennessee and UAlbany on Day 1 of the Patriot Invite.
GAME ONE: MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Mason battled Middle Tennessee to five sets in game one of the Patriot Invite, ultimately falling 25-12, 16-25, 26-28, 25-21, 12-15. Freshman
Caroline Rodriguez had the best game of her young career after checking in in the second set, crushing her previous best with 18 kills at an incredible .696 clip with only two errors.
The Patriots (4-7) came out firing, scoring six-straight points to take an 11-3 lead. During the run,
Camille Larkin and
Gabriella Gelfound teamed up for back-to-back blocks to force a Blue Raiders (7-3) timeout. Mason forced four more MTSU errors to stretch their lead to eight and force another timeout while four kills from
Nani Spaar down the stretch provided the final 25-12 score. Mason hit .500 while limiting Middle Tennessee to a match low .000.
The Blue Raiders were able to flip the script and limit their errors across the court in set two, committing just two at the net and none from the service line. Mason was able to cut into the lead and trailed by just five, 18-13, but MTSU strung together six-straight points to put the match out of reach. The Patriots fought off set point with their own 3-0 run capped by a Spaar ace, but Laure Jansen's fourth kill of the set tied the match.
The third set was a back-and-forth battle featuring 10 tie scores and five lead changes. Neither team was able to establish a lead more than three as the Patriots and Blue Raiders traded 3-0 runs.
Caroline Rodriguez led the Patriot offense with seven of the team's match-high 18 kills in the set. Mason secured set point on a Rodriguez kill and led 24-21, but MTSU tied the set at 24 on a service ace. Rodriguez stretched the set and tied it at 26-all, but two more kills by the Blue Raiders completed the set three comeback, 28-26.
Led by a perfect offensive set from Rodriguez on 7-7 hitting, Mason led for most of set four. With the stanza tied at for, the Patriots scored five of the next six points capped by kills from
Ewelina Gacek and
Olyvia Kennedy. MTSU would get within two, 18-16, but a 4-0 run from Mason put the set out of reach and the Patriots forced a fifth set with the 25-21 win.
The fifth set was evenly matched with both teams trading points that resulted in seven ties and two lead changes. Both teams committed just three hitting errors, but an ace and an 8-6 advantage and kills proved to be the difference for the Blue Raiders.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Mason's .380 hitting percentage was a season-best, large in part to its' season-high 66 kills
- Damiana Bova-Ford set a career-high with 29 assists on the afternoon
- Ewelina Gacek and Nani Spaar also registered double-figure kill totals with 13 and 10, respectively
- The Patriots allowed just 12 points in the opening set, a season-low
GAME TWO: UALBANY
Gabriella Gelfound led the Patriots with another double-double on 23 assists and 10 digs with nine kills, but the Great Danes (3-7) were able to secure the come-from-behind victory 25-20, 23-25, 21-25, 18-25.
Mason carried momentum from game one into the first set of the match, jumping out to an early 11-4 lead powered by a five-point run highlighted by two aces from
Camille Larkin. The Great Danes stayed in the set and got within three, 23-20, but back-to-back kills from Gelfound closed the set with a Patriot win.
The Great Danes opened set two on a 5-0 run of their own to force an early Mason timeout. Led by
Gracie Halley at the service line, the Patriots strung together seven-straight points to take a 12-11 lead. The teams traded points and tied the game 10 times, finally at 23-all on a
Caroline Rodriguez kill, but back-to-back UAlbany kills tied the match at 1-1.
In another set of runs, Mason scored five-straight to take an 8-5 lead. However, UAlbany scored the next eight points to take their own 13-8 lead. Mason would fight back to get within one, 17-16, but another run gave the Great Danes breathing room to finish out the set and take the match lead.
The Patriots once again went on an early 5-0 run to lead 8-5, but three separate 3-0 runs put the Great Danes back in front 18-13. Mason got kills from four different players, but it was not enough as UAlbany held off the Patriot comeback.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
UP NEXT
Mason will wrap up the Patriot Invite with a 2 p.m. match on Saturday with Seattle.
