Fairfax, Va.- The Patriots go 0-3 after a loss to the Lopes in Arizona.
Alexander Lillie,
Aidan Weltin, and
Stef Kins are true freshmen that have shown to be ready to be starters at the collegiate level putting up good numbers against the ninth ranked team in the country.
George Mason came out motivated in the first set taking an early lead with an inspired
Aidan Weltin. By the time that the Lopes tied the game at 11-11,
Aidan Weltin recorded five kills for the Patriots. Grand Canyon would keep it a close game, but the Patriots remained in front for most of the set forcing the Lopes to call a timeout at 19-17 in favor for the Patriots. Another freshman,
Alexander Lillie came clutch and scored the 25
th point for the Patriots, winning their first set of the season.
Grand Canyon showed the volleyball world why they are ranked 9
th in the country during the second set. The Lopes would dominate for the whole set, reaching a point where they would have double the points that George Mason had. The second set was won comfortably by Grand Canyon, 25-13.
The third set would be a similar story from yesterday's sets with the Lopes having the lead for most of the set. George Mason would fight back towards the end of the set with the Patriots scoring four unanswered points to tie the game up at 20. The Lopes remained focused on the end goal and achieve the 25
th point to take the third set.
Fourth set started with both teams fighting for the lead from the very beginning. There were five instances where the game was tied. There was a moment where George Mason scored three unanswered points towards the end to cut down the Lopes lead to just one, 21-20. Grand Canyon would close out the series and take the fourth set to win the second match up between the Lopes and Patriots this weekend.
Quotable:
"We didn't win tonight, but we turned a corner as a team", said head coach
Jay Hosack. "We still have much work to do, but to have three true freshman on the court and the way we all responded to the previous matches is what I am looking for".
By the numbers:
