WHO: Women’s Volleyball vs Davidson
WHERE: RAC Gym, Fairfax, Va.
FINAL SCORE: Davidson 3, Mason 0
KEY PLAYERS: Bailey Williams – 9 kills, 9 digs; Catie Espinoza – 15 digs
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1st
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2nd
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3rd
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TOTAL
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Davidson (9-13, 4-4 A-10)
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25
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25
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25
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3
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George Mason (4-17, 0-8 A-10)
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17
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20
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18
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0
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FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason University’s women’s volleyball team did not show the aggression that it did two weekends ago and lost the home match against Davidson in straight sets on Friday evening.
MATCH NOTES
-Despite the defeat, Mason showed a balanced attack and had five players with at least four kills on the night, but none of them could reach double digits. Freshman outside hitter Bailey Williams came closest to the feat after picking up nine kills, followed by junior outside hitter Jordan Glass and senior opposite hitter Tiffany Clarke with eight and seven, respectively. Just like last time the Patriots faced Davidson, Williams matched her offensive contribution with the defensive one and finished with nine digs as well. Sophomore libero Catie Espinoza had another double-digit performance with 15 digs, but that was nothing in comparison to the stellar performance she put on during Mason’s visit to Davidson, N.C.
-Davidson’s Kelly Friers was the sole player who finished with double digits in attack, picking up 11 kills. Friers also had one of the top three defensive performance for her team with nine digs. That was bested only by libero Elise Edman, who matched the number on her back an led the Wildcats with 11 digs.
-The first set started well for Clarke and Mason, which took a 3-0 lead on back-to-back kills from the senior. That, however, quickly changed since the Patriots managed to win only two of the following 10 points and trailed by three themselves at 8-5. This run proved crucial in the outcome of the set because Davidson did well to protect its lead and only thrice let it drop to two points. The last time that happened was on a kill by Williams for 17-15, but the Wildcats responded just as well as they did the first time and went on a 8-2 run that closed the set at 25-17.
-Davidson was forced to take the first timeout in the second set after errors from Edman and Friers turned a two-point advantage into a two-point deficit for the Wildcats in a matter of four points, thanks to a kill by Glass and a solo block by senior outside hitter Jessie Greenslade. Once again, however, Mason could not hold on to its lead and gave up four-straight points to return to its previous situation at 13-11. Davidson could not pull away as it did in the first set and after several failed attempts by Mason to get back on level terms, a kill by Glass made it 19 all and gave the Patriots the chance to finish strong in the decisive moments. Unfortunately, attacking errors doomed head coach Jackie Simpson-Kirr’s team and it won only one point in the final stages of the set, allowing Davidson to win it 25-20.
-The Patriots had three leads early in the third set, including a two-point lead at 3-1 off a Williams kill. On the contrary, Davidson took its first lead at 6-5 and used the momentum from it much better, increasing it to four on the same run, 9-5. A 3-0 Mason run on junior setter Kelly Schaller’s service – including the Patriots’ only ace – cut the Wildcats’ six-point lead in half at 13-10, but Davidson provided a lightning-quick 4-0 response to grab its largest lead of the set, 17-10. From that moment on, four points was the closest Mason got to its opponent – on a kill by freshman middle blocker Katrina Santos for 21-17 – and could not provide a serious threat to the Wildcats’ sweep ambitions, which materialized into reality at 25-18 on a kill by Sabrina Shepherd.
STAT BREAKDOWN
-Mason struggled to find its offensive stride all night and hit .045 as a team, while Davidson hit .221 largely due to committing 16 fewer errors. In terms of successful plays, Mason had only three fewer than the Wildcats, 38-35.
-Five Patriots had at least six digs in the contest, helping Mason accumulate 54 digs as a team, but Davidson bested that with 62 digs.
-Emily Franklin’s three solo blocks were more than Mason’s entire team, which very well describes how the Patriots’ night at the net went – the Wildcats convincingly won the block battle 12-4.
-Defensive awareness by both teams allowed for a total of two service aces in the match, one apiece.
NEXT ON THE COURT
The Patriots’ weekend continues tomorrow night with their Dig Pink match, in which they will face in-state rival VCU. First serve is once again at 7 p.m.
