Fairfax, Va.- The first home game of the season featured an amazing crowd who left the arena with a smile on their face after Mason won against Saint Francis, 3-1. Mason even up their record to 7-7, meanwhile Saint Francis drops to 9-6.
The first set began with a lot of energy from the home crowd pushing Mason to not fall too far behind from Saint Francis. The Red Flash led for most of the set with Mason staying close to them by one point or tying it up. The game was neck and neck until the score was tied 19-19 and Saint Francis did not want to give Mason a lead so a time out was called. The Patriots came out hot after the timeout scoring three unanswered points to lead 22-19 and forcing Saint Francis to call another timeout. The Red Flash scored one more point after the timeout but Mason closed out the set scoring three consecutive points and winning their first set at home.
Jackson Herbert had his first start of the season and he showed up with kills and aces to propel Mason to take the first.
Saint Francis attempted to maintain an early lead once again but Mason took over with a service and an attacking error to lead 12-10. "The
Jackson Herbert Show" continued with more kills and
Troy McDonald adding an ace to his name. The Red Flash struggled to come back into the game with the Mason Nation pushing the Patriots to secure the second set. The offense was flowing with
Omar Hoyos,
Liam French, and
Jackson Herbert scoring points. In the defensive end,
Jason Ashenfelter and
Eamonn Testerman kept the lead secure. Mason took the second set, 25-19
George Mason had an opportunity to go for the sweep, but Saint Francis had other plans. The Red Flash achieved their biggest lead in the game when they scored their 15
th point and Mason was at eight. The Patriots called a timeout in hopes to come back into the game but Saint Francis kept going until it was 22-15.
Omar Hoyos got a kill pushing Mason to score four consecutive points and it seemed as if the set could be tied. Saint Francis may have given up more points but were able to secure the 25
th point and force a fourth set.
George Mason came out firing in the fourth set, never giving up the lead in the entirety of the set. The noise level at the RAC was at an all-time high with the players feeling the support and putting it onto the court with blocks by
Eamonn Testerman and kills by the whole offense. It was a nearly perfect set by both offense and defense only allowing Saint Francis to score 12 points and Mason quickly achieving the 25
th point to call checkmate and end the game. Mason had 13 kills with one service ace and a .281 hitting percentage. Defense clutched up for the Patriots accumulating five blocks and keeping the Red Flash offense quiet. The whole arena erupted once Mason secured the 25
th point and everyone came down to the court to congratulate the players for an amazing game.
Quotable:
"I'm very proud of our teams response tonight after being on the road last night and not handling that match as well as we could have", said head coach
Jay Hosack. "Tonight was a glimpse of how good we can be this year, and they beat a very good Saint Francis team. Proud of their work tonight".
By the Numbers:
- Senior outside hitter Omar Hoyos led the team in kills with 14
- Freshman opposite hitter Jackson Herbert had his first start and did not disappoint by having 11 kills tied with Liam French. Jackson also led the team with service aces (3)
- Eamonn Testerman had a career-high of six blocks
- Troy McDonald continues his consistent form this season by recording 36 assists
- George Mason had a .256 hitting percentage and Saint Francis recorded a .202 hitting percentage
Next Up:
George Mason will remain at home for the whole month of March. Next Friday will be a conference game against NJIT at 7 pm, and on Saturday will be against FDU with a start time of 5 pm.
