Fairfax, Va.- The Patriots concluded their Illinois trip with a game against No. 13 Loyola Chicago. Mason entered the match with a loss against Lewis, 3-0; meanwhile The Ramblers were in a three-game winning streak and have not lost a single set in those three games. 

Game Recap:
The Ramblers had a strong start to the game achieving an early lead of 8-2 going on a five-point run until Parker Van Buren had a service error to give the ball back to the Patriots. Mason scored two more points to cut Loyola Chicago's lead in half, 8-4. It seemed as if George Mason was coming back after making it a one-point game (12-13) but Loyola once again went on a three-point run to further the distance between themselves and the Patriots. Later in the set, Mason went on a three-point run to make it 17-20 but Loyola was not phased and went on to win the first set 25-20. 

The Patriots began the second set leading 4-2 with early kills by Liam French and Jack Bolz. Mason kept the lead up until the score line was 8-6 but Loyola turned on the gears to make it a 10-8 lead for themselves. The Patriots did not want to fall behind and managed to tie the game up at 12-12 but after that, Loyola Chicago took the lead again and maintained it until the end to take the second set, 25-18.

Loyola Chicago was only one set away to sweep Mason. The Patriots knew what was at stake and started the set with a 2-0 lead thanks to a kill from Omar Hoyos and a service ace by Colin Heath. The Ramblers were able to tie the game but they were not able to lead for the remainder of the set. George Mason ran further away with the lead going on a four-point run with two kills and a service ace by Jack Bolz and a kill by Colin Heath. The score was 23-16 in favor for Mason, and the final two points were scored to snatch the set and to force a fourth.

George Mason begun the fourth set with a 4-1 lead due to Loyola's errors but The Ramblers tied the game up 4-4 and from then, it was a constant back and forth match. The game was tied up many times until it was 14-14. Loyola Chicago focused up and went on a six-point run to achieve a comfortable lead of 20-14. Mason was not ready to give up and scored four points consecutively to make it a two-point game (18-20). Mason fought until the end, but Loyola Chicago did not give up the lead and won the fourth set to add another win to their record. 

By the Numbers:
- Senior Jack Bolz had a double-double tonight achieving 15 kills and 10 digs
- Junior setter Troy McDonald continued serving out assists to his teammates (36 assists)
- Senior middle blocker Sam Peters had the most blocks with three
- Loyola Chicago had nine more kills than The Patriots and the hitting percentage for The Ramblers was .358 compared to Mason's .257 hitting percentage. 

Up Next:
The Patriots travel to Newark, NJ on February 16th to face NJIT for the first conference game of the 2024 season.