FAIRFAX, Va. — George Mason defeated Rhode Island 3-1 (25-15, 25-16, 20-25, 25-19) on Friday. The Patriots totaled 63 kills and hit .275, while Rhode Island finished with 37 kills and a .092 hitting percentage.
The Patriots separated late in the first set, winning seven of eight rallies to turn a 17-11 lead into a 24-12 advantage. Earlier,
Ava Cheney helped drive the attack with assists to
Meredith Brown,
Gabriella Gelfound, and
Kiera Hamilton as the Patriots built their cushion. After Rhode Island scored three straight,
Nia Thompson finished the set with a kill from
Autumn Martinez-Robinson for a 25-15 Patriots win.
The Patriots broke open the second set by winning seven of eight rallies from a 10-9 edge to a 17-10 lead, getting points from Hamilton's block and kills by Brown, Cheney, Hamilton, and Thompson.
Mia Hazelett added a service ace to make it 20-11, and the Patriots closed from 21-16 with four straight points. Thompson had two kills in that final burst before Hamilton finished the 25-16 set.
The Patriots could not sustain a 5-1 start in the third set, as Rhode Island answered and moved ahead 12-7 before taking the set 25-20. Martinez-Robinson's serve helped the Patriots build the early cushion, with Hamilton and Brown supplying kills during the run. Hamilton and Brown later helped cut the deficit to 12-10, but Rhode Island kept the Patriots from getting back even.
The Patriots answered a 9-8 deficit with a 5-1 stretch to move ahead 13-10, getting kills from Thompson, Hamilton and Brown around Rhode Island errors. The Patriots later built the margin to 20-14 behind a Gelfound kill, another Rhode Island error and a Hamilton kill. The set ended 25-19 on a Thompson kill from Cheney.
PATRIOT POINTS
Patriots Top Performers
Kiera Hamilton
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- 27 kills (career-high)
- 29 points
- 9 digs
- 2 solo blocks (career-high)
Ava Cheney
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- 54 assists
- 14 digs (career-high)
- 3 block assists
- 1 service ace
Avery Booker
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- 19 digs (career-high)
Autumn Martinez-Robinson
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- 17 digs
- 3 assists
Nia Thompson
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- 12 kills
- 12 digs
- 12.5 points
UP NEXT
The Patriots host Rhode Island again on Saturday, Sept. 26, at noon at the RAC.
