HARRISONBURG, Va. — George Mason defeated Delaware St. 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 19-25, 25-13) on Friday. The Patriots hit .343 with 48 kills and 13 aces while holding Delaware St. to a .172 hitting percentage.

The Patriots created separation in the first set with their serving, scoring the first five points on Nia Thompson's serve and later winning seven of eight rallies to move from 11-6 to 18-7. Ava Cheney served through the later push, adding an ace and assisting a Thompson kill during the stretch. Thompson closed the set with a kill from Cheney as the Patriots finished off a 25-15 win.

The Patriots erased a 6-2 deficit in the second set by winning seven of the next eight points, with Mia Hazelett serving four straight points that included an ace and Jenna Hunt's kill from Cheney for a 9-7 lead. After Delaware St. scored three straight to make it 23-21, Gabriella Gelfound answered with a kill and Autumn Martinez-Robinson followed with a service ace to close out the Patriots' 25-21 set win.

In the third set, the Patriots erased a 13-10 deficit with kills from Gelfound and Kiera Hamilton followed by Hazelett's block, pulling even at 13-13. Delaware St. answered with four straight points, and although Hamilton added a kill and a service ace as the Patriots got back to 18-20, Delaware St. closed out the set 25-19.

The Patriots created separation in the fourth set by winning seven of eight rallies, turning a 10-8 lead into a 17-9 advantage. Hamilton had two kills during that stretch, Martinez-Robinson added a service ace, and Gelfound and Hazelett combined on a block. Mckenna Reynolds served the final two points, including an ace on set point, as the Patriots finished the set 25-13.

PATRIOT POINTS
Kiera Hamilton
----------------------
- 18 kills on .343 hitting
- 3 service aces
- 2 blocks
- 22 points

Ava Cheney
----------------------
- 42 assists
- 5 digs
- 2 blocks
- 1 service ace

Jenna Hunt
----------------------
- 8 blocks
- 5 kills on .400 hitting
- 9 points

Mia Hazelett
----------------------
- 4 service aces
- 6 kills on .667 hitting
- 3 blocks, including 1 solo
- 12 points

Gabriella Gelfound
----------------------
- 5 blocks
- 7 kills on .286 hitting
- 9.5 points

UP NEXT
The Patriots host UNCG on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 1 p.m. in Harrisonburg, Virginia.