CHARLESTON, W. Va. – The George Mason Men's Volleyball team won their first Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) game of the season by defeating Charleston in straight sets Saturday afternoon at the Wehrle Innovation Center. The Patriots close out the opening EIVA weekend splitting the series with the Golden Eagles.
PATRIOT POINTS
- The Patriot offense saw steady production primarily from four players. Junior outside hitter Robert Evangelista led the team with 10 kills, while sophomores Jack Lopez, Aidan Weltin and Alexander Lillie had nine, eight and seven kills, respectively.
- George Mason erupted for five aces a day after they were held to zero; Charleston only had two on the day.
- The Patriots out-blocked the Golden Eagles 12 to eight. The top three blockers of the afternoon were all Patriots; senior setter Georgi Zahariev had a game-high six blocks, while senior middle blocker Elijah Lazor had five and Lillie put in four, two of which were solo blocks.
Less than 24 hours after a tough showing in the first game, George Mason (6-5, 1-1 EIVA) dominated the opening set. Charleston (6-6, 1-1 EIVA) would not go quietly, as the following two sets required extra points to decide a winner. The Patriots' potent offense shined with a .361 hitting percentage, outmatching the Golden Eagles' .225.
SET 1: GMU - 25, Charleston - 15
The opening set saw competitive rallies, but George Mason quickly asserted their strength.
Robert Evangelista got things rolling with a kill off
Georgi Zahariev's set, answered by a Charleston kill from Lucas Torres.
Alexander Lillie was instrumental, delivering three kills and back-to-back service aces, pushing the Patriot lead to 7-4 and forcing the Golden Eagles to call a timeout in order to regroup. The momentum stayed with George Mason, as the Patriots went on a 4-1 run before Charleston took their second timeout of the set.
Charleston struggled with errors, including multiple attack miscues, which the Patriots capitalized on to pull ahead 21-11 with a perfectly placed Lillie kill where there was no Golden Eagle guarding the back line. Despite Charleston's late push, George Mason sealed the set at 25-15 with a service ace from
Jack Lopez.
SET 2: GMU - 27, Charleston - 25
The second set was a Patriot uphill battle from the very beginning, as they fell behind quickly and had to chip away at the Golden Eagle lead. The Patriots were as far down as 17-13 before mounting a comeback that included seven ties and their first lead of the set at 26-25.
The Golden Eagles initially surged ahead, leading 6-2 with a service ace by Lucas Torres and blocks from Conrad Spidsø and Dimitris Manikas, which prompted Patriot head coach
Jay Hosack to call for time. George Mason's Evangelista tried to jumpstart the Patriot rally with an impressive kill in which he pushed the ball through Charleston's three-man wall. However, the Golden Eagles slowly kept a firm grip of the set and Coach Hosack called his second timeout down 17-13.
George Mason rallied back, leveling the score at 17-17 with a service ace and a well-placed Evangelista kill. Trading blows down the stretch, the Patriots capitalized on attack errors and a pivotal block by Lopez and
Elijah Lazor against Max Nissen, clinching the set 27-25.
SET 3: GMU - 26, Charleston - 24
The third set saw Charleston jump to an early lead, thanks to an impressive pancake save from the Golden Eagles to preserve the rally and ultimately score and extend their 4-2 lead. The Golden Eagles kept the two-point advantage until 10-8, when the Patriots went on a four-point run to take a 12-10 lead.
The Patriot lead was short-lived, as the Golden Eagles scored three in a row to narrowly retake a one-point lead. The two schools would then exchange scoring runs, eventually tying the third set at 21.
Though the set required extra points to determine a winner, Charleston inflicted multiple errors on themselves. Four of the final five Patriot points were Charleston service errors.
The match concluded dramatically with a decisive kill by Lopez from
Robby Nardoni's assist.
COACH'S CORNER
"After last night's performance, I could not be more proud of our response today against a very good Charleston team," said head coach
Jay Hosack. "We refused to go down without a fight and return to our George Mason brand of volleyball."
UP NEXT
George Mason will still be on the road next weekend, this time being in New Jersey. The Patriots will first play against EIVA foe New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark on Feb. 20
th at 6 p.m. They will then travel to Teaneck for a single game at Fairleigh Dickinson on Feb. 21
st at 2 p.m.
