FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason Men's Volleyball team returned to the Recreation Athletics Complex and secured a decisive 3-0 sweep over Barton College on Friday evening, extending their home win streak to seven games.
PATRIOT POINTS
- The Patriots overpowered the Bulldogs in hitting percentage (.481 to .187), points (60 to 35), kills (45 to 29), service aces (six to one), blocks (nine to five), assists (36 to 28) and digs (25 to 22).
- Junior outside hitter Robert Evangelista had a game-high 13 kills, while sophomore pin hitter Aidan Weltin led all scorers with 14.5, which included 11 kills, three block assists and two service aces.
- Along with Weltin, junior opposite hitter Derek Nagel also had a game-high two service aces.
- Senior setter Georgi Zahariev had a game-high 33 assists as well as four kills.
- Sophomore middle blocker Alexander Lillie had the most block assists on the evening with six, followed by junior opposite hitter Jackson Herbert with four.
George Mason (11-7, 2-2 EIVA) cruised to a sweep against Barton (7-9, 3-3 CC) that featured a stifling defense and a relentless offense. The Patriots never fell behind all game and were only tied once briefly at 1-1 in the third period.
SET 1: George Mason - 25, Barton - 19
The George Mason defense shined in the opening period, making one triple block and three double blocks within the 19-minute set.
The Patriots jumped out to a 5-0 lead to start the game that featured a Weltin service ace and kill, a Herbert kill and Herbert/
Elijah Lazor double block. After Barton got on the board with a Patriot service error, Weltin, Herbert and Lillie formed a wall at the net for a triple block, taking the next point 6-1.
The Patriots kept a firm grip of the set, taking a 15-8 lead into the game's first media timeout. Later, the second triple block of the set came at 17-9, this time with
Georgi Zahariev, Lillie and
Robert Evangelista rising up to stuff the Bulldog attack. Evangelista would have the strongest offensive output of the period, scoring a set-high five kills on a .833 hitting percentage.
SET 2: George Mason - 25, Barton - 15
If the first set was a defensive showing for the Patriots, the second set displayed their offensive prowess, with the Green & Gold recording a game-high hitting percentage of .560.
Similar to the first, the Patriots raced to a 6-2 lead thanks to another Weltin Ace and two strong Lazor kills. Weltin and Lillie rose up for the set's first double block at 11-6 as well.
The Bulldogs pulled withing three after what was initially called as a ball handling violation on the Patriots' Evangelista at 13-10. Coach
Jay Hosack challenged the call, claiming that his Patriot had never touched the ball during the Bulldog set. After review, it was determined that Evangelista had in fact not touched it and that the point had to be replayed. Although Barton ultimately scored again off a Patriot service error to make it 13-10 again, George Mason would go on an 8-3 run to put the set well out of reach.
The second Patriot double block of the set came at 19-12, with Herbert and Lillie teaming up to block Lawson Hink's attack. The Patriots then closed out the 20-minute set by going on a 6-3 run that consisted of two Weltin kills, two Lazor kills, a Barton attacking error and a Herbert kill.
SET 3: George Mason - 25, Barton - 20
The third and final set of the evening was the closest, but the Patriots outhit the Bulldogs .412 to .333 and recorded a game-high three service aces.
After the game's only tie at 1-1, the Patriots pulled away with an Evangelista kill and a
Jack Lopez ace. George Mason kept a three to four point distance from Barton for the majority of the set, but the Bulldogs went on their only 3-0 run of the game late in the period, getting to within one at 20-19 and prompting a Patriot timeout.
After the timeout, the Patriots scored the next two points, with the 22
nd point of the set being saved by the diving efforts of redshirt junior libero
Robby Nardoni that turned into Weltin's 11
th kill of the night.
After a Patriot service error, George Mason scored the final three points of the match via Evangelista's 13
th kill, Nagel's second ace and Zahariev's fourth kill of the game.
COACH'S CORNER
"Tonight, we played with good energy and handled their attackers well," said head coach
Jay Hosack. "I liked our serve and pass game tonight as well. Keeping them off the net and allowing our offense to run at full speed is what we are known for Tonight, we got back towards that personality."
UP NEXT
With Barton and FDU playing at the RAC tomorrow, the Patriots will have a rest day before taking on the Knights on Sunday. First serve is set for 2 p.m. and will be
broadcast on ESPN+ and
live stats.
