This post was written by Hatchet reporter Alex Kist.
The volleyball team took care of George Mason on Friday, defeating the Patriots 3-1 to extend its win streak to three straight games.
Although the Colonials (12-4, 3-0 A-10) overwhelmed Mason (5-11, 1-2 A-10) in the first set, GW struggled to find consistent play on the floor.
Once the Colonials overcame their consistency issues and unforced errors, they bested the Patriots to advance to 3-0 in the Atlantic 10 for the first time since 2003.
“This win is always a big one,” head coach Amanda Ault said. “We always talk about the ‘D.C. challenge’ with teams like Georgetown, George Mason and American because we need to make sure we dominate the District each season. I think that each match in the A-10 will be big for us whether it’s at home or away and this game really prepared us for that.”
Sophomore middle blocker Chidima Osuchukwu knocked down a career-high 19 kills while only committing four attack errors on 32 total attempts. Osuchukwu, along with junior outside hitter Maggie Skjelbred, paced the Colonials with .469 and .500 hitting percentages, respectively.
In the opening set, GW put Mason away early, swinging .370 while holding the Patriots to four kills over 26 attempts and cruised to a 25-13 set win.
In the second set, Mason capitalized on the Colonials’ errors. The Patriots contended with GW throughout the set, which saw three lead changes and 10 ties. Mason managed to throw the Colonials off balance and take the set 25-23.
“In the first set, we really got settled, we took care of things and we were pretty steady,” Ault said. “Then we flipped to the second set and then they came alive. When you go away for any match in the A-10, players feel comfortable at home and you’re going to feed off the crowd.”
GW retaliated with a strong defensive stance in the third set. Freshman defensive specialist Christina Porada maintained a presence throughout the game and racked up a season-high 18 digs. Junior Maddy Doyle also contributed defensively with 11 digs and two assists.
Despite the win, GW accumulated 10 service errors on the night and faltered in its serve-receive and blocking.
“We continued to have service errors as the game progressed and we talked about just being able to put the ball in tonight,” Ault said. “But when we did put it in, we were getting them out of system, we were making them become one dimensional, and then we weren’t playing defense on the opposite end of it.”
GW pushed through during the last two sets to pull away from Mason. After starting the third set from behind, the Colonials swung .300 and took the set, 25-16.
The energy carried on into the final frame, when GW fought to finish with a 25-22 set win. The Colonials forced four attack errors in a row, which put GW ahead 18-14. Powerful kills and impressive blocks helped hold GW until the end of the match.
“Now that we are rolling into October where we are in the midst of A-10, we really have to take care of being consistent with our play,” Ault said. “I think the different sets showed exactly that. When we are consistent, we take care of our job and we are doing things that we know we can do, then we are in control and we put ourselves in a good spot.
The Colonials head back to the Smith Center next Friday to host Saint Louis.
