Chris Torres/Fourth Estate
The loss now drops the Patriots to sixth place in the EIVA standings
BY CHRIS TORRES, STAFF WRITER
George Mason men’s volleyball fell to Penn State, 3-2, in five sets on Saturday evening, April 12, at the Recreation Athletic Complex. The Patriots have lost five straight matches and sit with a conference record of 4-6.
Senior outside hitter Giomar Collazo led the Patriots with 17 kills and four service aces; junior middle blocker Evan Snodgrass had a career high 15 kills on the evening. Senior setter Troy McDonald led the team with 45 assists. On the defensive side, freshman libero Stef Kins led the team with 11 digs and junior middle blocker Elijah Lazor had four total blocks.
In the first set, Penn State held an early control. Seven of the Nittany Lions’ first 10 points were errors by Mason. The Patriots were able to stay in the set thanks to kills by Collazo, Snodgrass and sophomore outside hitter Robert Evangelista.
Mason took the lead midway in the first set at 17-16 and had a set point at 24-22. The Nittany Lions prevented two Patriot set points and tied it at 24-24. Penn State took advantage and won two straight points to win the set, 26-24.
The Patriots got off to a better start in the second set, as the trio of Snodgrass, Evangelista and sophomore opposite hitter Jackson Herbert each registered multiple kills to spark the offense. With the score at 23-23, Collazo got a kill and forced an attack error to win the set for the Patriots, 25-23.
The Patriots fell into a hole early in the third set, down 11-3. Penn State sophomore Matthew Luoma, who finished the match with 17 kills, powered the Nittany Lions in the third set to a 22-18 lead with six kills. The Patriots went on a 4-0 run to tie the match at 22-22 and put pressure on Penn State.
A wild run ensued, during which Collazo and Penn State senior Will Kuhns exchanged points back and forth, giving both teams an opportunity to win the set. The Patriots prevailed in the intense duel, winning the crucial third set 31-29, due to attack errors by the Nittany Lions.
The fourth ran the longest of the match, with 62 points disputed. Each team had several exchanges with one another until Penn State took control and created a set point at 24-20. Collazo got three kills to tie the set at 24-24.
The Patriots had four match points to close out the Nittany Lions but three service errors occurred on the critical points needed. A kill by Kuhns, who led Penn State with 18 in the match, sealed the fourth set for the Nittany Lions, 32-30.
In the fifth set, neither team could build an early lead as they exchanged points up until a timeout called by Mason with the score tied 8-8. The Nittany Lions went on a 7-4 run to set up their first match point of the night. Kuhns took advantage and served an ace to win the set, 15-12, and win the match for Penn State.
Up next for the Patriots are two home matches against the University of Charleston on Friday, April 18 and Saturday, April 19, streaming on ESPN+.