FAIRFAX, Va. — The George Mason Men's Volleyball team capped off its three-week, six-game homestand with a 3-1 Saturday evening victory over Manhattan at the Recreation Athletic Complex (RAC). After winning the first two sets, the Patriots dropped the third but ultimately sealed the win with a thrilling come-from-behind fourth set win.
PATRIOT POINTS
- Sophomore pin hitter Aidan Weltin had a game-high 12 kills in his four sets played. Sophomore outside hitter Jack Lopez had the second-most with 11.
- Setter Georgi Zahariev had a game-high 34 assists. The senior also had a service ace, along with Weltin and junior outside hitter Robert Evangelista.
- The Patriot defense recorded 12 total blocks compared to Manhattan's six. Evangelista, along with sophomore middle blocker Alexander Lillie, recorded one solo block.
- George Mason has now won five of their last six games and have a winning percentage over .500 for the first time this season.
George Mason (5-4, 0-0 EIVA) took control of Saturday evening's game earlier than last night's matchup with Manhattan (2-8, 0-0 NEC). The Patriots impressed with a .327 hitting percentage, particularly shining in the second set with a .588 mark. Manhattan did not back down from the initial Patriot surge, however, as they battled to take the third set and took George Mason to the brink in the fourth set before ultimately falling.
SET 1: GMU - 25, Manhattan - 20
Both teams traded points early on in the opening period, but the Patriots gradually pulled ahead.
Aidan Weltin and
Alexander Lillie stood out with multiple kills, supported by
Georgi Zahariev's 16 assists on the set.
Elijah Lazor and
Jack Lopez fortified the defense with key blocks. Despite Manhattan's late surge, a crucial attack error by Kai Patchell handed George Mason the set at 25-20.
SET 2: GMU - 25, Manhattan - 17
Set two saw the Patriots take control early, with Lillie's blocks sparking a 4-0 lead. Zahariev's service ace extended the lead to 7-3. After a subsequent 4-1 Patriot run, junior pin hitter
Sebastian Sanchez came in to replace Weltin and recorded one kill in the set.
Manhattan tried to fight back with efforts from Sam Morreale and Kasen Owens, but the Green & Gold remained unfazed.
Robert Evangelista's decisive kill sealed the set at 25-17.
SET 3: GMU - 23, Manhattan - 25
In the third set, Manhattan jumped to an early lead following Drew Blonski's service ace and a Sanchez service error. Both teams exchanged errors and kills, keeping it tight.
George Mason was down 13-11 when Manhattan scored what they believed was their 14
th point due to an Evangelista attacking error. Patriot head coach
Jay Hosack challenged the point, claiming that the Jaspers touched the ball. After a review, it was shown that Manhattan did in fact make contact with the ball, thus reversing the point in favor of the Patriots. Manhattan would get the next point, but the Patriots took the following two and tie the set 14-14 with a Lopez kill and an emphatic triple block by Lopez, Sanchez and senior middle blocker
Elijah Lazor.
Although it was tied, the Jaspers continued to fight and never fell behind in the set. Manhattan went on a 5-4 run and eventually was able to widen the lead towards the end of the stanza. Despite a late rally by George Mason, Manhattan narrowly took the set 25-23.
SET 4: GMU - 26, Manhattan - 24
Similar to last night, the fourth set was a thriller that included six lead changes. The tone was set after a 24-second rally that gave the Patriots a 6-5 edge. Manhattan would go on a 5-3 run to retake the lead by one.
At 10-10, the Jaspers scored to take a narrow lead, but after another successful Patriot challenge where, after a review, the ball had never touched the ground and was in fact pancaked by redshirt junior
Robby Nardoni, the point had to be replayed. Evangelista made quick work of the replayed point, as he notched his seventh service ace of the season.
The set was heavily contested throughout, with the score still knotted up as late as 21. The Jaspers then went on a 3-1 run, pushing the Patriots to the brink of a potential fifth set. With the Patriots down 24-22, George Mason went on a set-ending, match-sealing four-point run that included two Lopez kills, a costly ball handling error by Manhattan's Morreale and a frenzied final kill by Weltin that was set up by a Nardoni diving save to keep the Patriot rally alive.
COACH'S CORNER
"I am happy we got the W tonight," said head coach
Jay Hosack. "We still have some things to iron out with finishing teams the right way, but overall, the weekend went as planned. Now we start conference play, and that is a whole new ballgame."
UP NEXT
The Patriots will hit the road for the next two weekends as well as beginning conference play. Next Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13
th & 14
th, George Mason will travel to Charleston, W. Va., to face off against University of Charleston and open the EIVA season.
The following week, George Mason be will in New Jersey, first 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, N.J., for a single game at Fairleigh Dickinson on Feb. 21
st at 2 p.m.
