Fairfax, Va.- George Mason had a mission to bring in their third conference win of the season and acheive a 2-0 record against NJIT. The mission was successful with Mason defeating the Highlanders, 3-1, in an intense four sets.
The Patriots started the game with an early 7-4 lead but NJIT were able to tie the game at eight points and take the lead themselves. Mason kept trying to tie the game and achieved it at 14-14 with a kill by
Sam Peters. Mason was not able to recover the lead for the rest of the set and an inspired Alessandro Negri pushed the Highlanders to take the first set, 25-21.
In the second set, George Mason flicked on the switch on offense with
Omar Hoyos,
Colin Heath,
Jackson Herbert, and
Sam Peters racking up kills to maintain a lead for the Patriots. NJIT did not want to stay to far behind and made sure to only fall behind by one point until the score was tied 19-19. The game remained close with a tie at 22-22 but with an attack error by Alessandro Negri, a kill by
Lucas Little, and a service error by Fedmasu, Mason took the second set, 25-23.
Mason did not give up the lead once in the third set. It was still a very close set with the Highlanders keeping up with the actions made by the Patriots.
Lucas Little came in with big plays throughout the game and continued his performance in the third set.
Lucas Little recorded a kill for the 23
rd point and went on to score the 24
th points with a service ace.
Jackson Herbert would put the nail in the coffin with a kill to achieve the 25th point and to take the lead 2-1.
The fourth set followed the same intensity as the first three sets with both teams going back and forth tying to take the lead and put the other team under pressure. A kill by
Jackson Herbert would give Mason a 20-19 lead forcing NJIT to call a timeout. After the timeout, the Highlanders tied the game once again. The game was tied at 21-21 but with a kill by
Sam Peters, and two kills by
Troy McDonald gave Mason a three-point lead and the set point to win match. Alessandro Negri recorded one kill to delay the victory but
Sam Peters would call game with a kill and give Mason their third conference win of the season, 25-22
Up Next:
Mason will remain at home and host FDU for a matchup that will begin at 5 pm.
By the Numbers:
