George Mason Knocks Off Matadors in Straight Sets

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NORTHRIDGE, CA - Three deuce games all went to George Mason Saturday as the unranked Patriots knocked off 11th-ranked CSUN 27-25, 26-24, 25-23 in the Asics Invitational at Long Beach State.

The Matadors opened the tournament Friday with a tough five-set loss to No. 10 Loyola-Chicago before suffering just their third loss in 13 matches against unranked foes this season.

After playing just three of the five sets against Loyola on Friday, junior Arvis Greene rebounded to put down a match-high 19 kills on .406 hitting to go with five blocks against George Mason. Greene, who was named to the All-Tournament team, however was the only Matador hitter to reach double figures in kills as sophomore Dimitar Kalchev was limited to eight kills on .118 hitting.

Junior middle Eric Chance chipped in five kills on eight errorless swings to hit .625 with four blocks while fellow middle Josiah Byers added three kills on .400 to go with three blocks.

Sophomore setter Sam Porter handed out 33 assists to go with seven digs in the loss.

CSUN led by as many as three in the opening set as as a Patriot hitting error put the Matadors in front 12-9. But George Mason outscored CSUN 8-2 over the next 10 points to open up a three point lead of its own at 17-14. GMU still led by three at 18-15 when a pair of Patriot errors and a Porter ace pulled the Matadors even.

The score was tied six more times down the stretch, the last at 25-25 following a Chance kill, when a Jack Wilson kill and a Langston Payne ace gave GMU the 27-25 win.

A Greene kill put the Matadors in front 23-21 in set two before the Patriots answered with a kill and a block to knot the score. A Greene kill set CSUN up with set point at 24-23 but George Mason rolled off three consecutive points to take a 26-24 win and a two set lead.

The final set was equally tight as the two squads forged a 21-21 tie when Porter was whistled for a setting error. A GMU kill out of a Matador timeout gave the Patriots a two-point advantage 23-21 when CSUN called its final timeout. The Matadors pulled within one after a George Mason service error but an ensuing Patriot kill gave GMU match point at 24-22.

A George Mason hitting error saved one match point but Greene's attack was stuffed by the Patriot block sending George Mason to the 3-0 sweep.

Wilson matched Greene's 19 kills to lead the Patriots who improved to 8-10 on the season.

CSUN returns to MPSF play next week as the Matadors complete the home portion of the 2017 schedule against Pepperdine (Mar. 15) and Long Beach State (Mar. 17).

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George Mason Knocks Off Matadors in Straight Sets

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Team Stats

Arvis Greene

Dimitar Kalchev

Eric Chance

Josiah Byers

Players Mentioned

Josiah Byers

Eric Chance

Arvis Greene

Dimitar Kalchev

Sam Porter

Kelsey Yogi