Volleyball: Mason Beats Ohio State

By Broadside Correspondent Fernanda Ferreira

After five tough matches away, the George Mason University Patriots volleyball team returned to the Field House stronger than ever. Mason (9-8) downed 14th ranked Ohio State Univerity Buckeyes (8-9) in four sets (30-27, 30-24, 29-31, 30-27) last Friday.

The Patriots returned from a long trip in California where they played UC Santa Barbara, California Baptist and Pepperdine. Although the Patriots came home with three losses, those games were fundamental for the team.

“The team gained confidence playing against Pepperdine, one of the best teams in the nation and being competitive against Santa Barbara,” said assistant coach
Kevin Moore.

Besides showing competitiveness and becoming stronger as a team, Mason proved to be back on the right track.

“California helped to establish our lineup and set the tone for the rest of the season,”
said junior setter Ryan Kwiatkowski.

The Patriots proved to be more mature as a team last Friday against Ohio State. The
match was close, but Mason had control over the match. The team was able to overcome the Buckeyes by presenting a consistent pass and serve game. With passing under control, Kwiatkowski was able to run a diverse and fast offense.

“Passing and serving worked well in this match. Seventy percent of the game is
based on passing and serving. Setting and attacking are just extra,” said Kwiatkowski.

Senior opposite hitter Kyle Gramit led the Patriots with 24 kills, followed by senior middle blocker Brandon McLaughlin and junior outside hitter Luke Maloney, each with 11 kills. The Patriots offense was effective, challenging the Ohio State block. The Buckeyes had only five solo blocks and 10 block assists, against five solo blocks and 26 block assists from the Patriots. McLaughlin led the Patriots with nine blocks, three being solo. Freshman middle blocker Lance Rogers had seven blocks.

Blocking well was fundamental to beat Ohio State, but serving made the difference
in crucial moments of the match. Mason had 10 total aces in the match. Freshman outside hitter Joe Norton contributed with four aces. Norton wrapped up the second set with an ace and tied up the score in 25-25 in the third set with two aces in a row. Sophomore setter Brandon Joyner also served an ace scoring 26-25 in the fourth set. Joyner’s serve was consistent and tough, helping the blockers’ work. After two solos blocks in a row, one by McLaughlin and the other by Kwiatkowski, the
Patriots held on to win with a kill by Gramit to end the match.

The winning came in a good time for the Patriots. Last weekend, Mason was
celebrating the alumni weekend and held a ceremony to honor the 25th anniversary of the 1984 team's third-place finish at the NCAA Division I Men’s Volleyball Championships.