George Mason gave them a couple frights, but the Colonials defeated the Patriots in straight sets on Halloween at the Smith Center.
Despite the sweep, the team was frustrated with how competitive the sets were against a much weaker opponent.
“I feel like we let some things slide tonight,” head coach Amanda Ault said. “We started off really crisp and really on top of our game, and kind of just died off and really had to battle when we could have taken control and really taken over the game.”
The main goal they did not accomplish was minimizing errors. GW racked up 29, something the team has struggled with all season. George Mason committed 27 errors during the match.
Still, the Colonials won the game the way they’ve won most games this season: They blasted George Mason to pieces with 48 kills, while the Patriots had 36.
“A lot of the girls and the coaches tease that I try to swing my way out of things when I’m struggling,” senior outside hitter Kelsey Newman said. “Our offense is probably the best in the A-10, I would say. We always just go to it, swinging our way out of trouble.”
After Mason (6-17, 2-8 A-10) took the first two points of the set, GW (17-7, 7-3 A-10) went on a 10-1 run, mostly by racking up six kills during the stretch, including an absolute rocket from Newman that powered through the hands of two players in front of the Mason net.
Newman could have been considered the Incredible Hulk if she had needed a last-minute Halloween costume. If most balls came off the hands of players with a tap, the balls left her palms with a thunderclap. She finished the match with 10 kills, but the more exceptional aspect was the definitiveness of each one of them.
Still, Mason pushed back. The Patriots had closed the gap to one at 16-17 and again at 21-22, but each time GW answered with a big swing. Finally, another kill from freshman outside hitter Aaliya Davidson gave the Colonials the set and 1-0 lead.
A normally unsung hero, Davidson did much of the work for GW. She racked up 12 kills on the day, tied for team high with sophomore middle blocker Chidima Osuchukwu.
“She had a really good match, and it was somebody where I think [junior setter Jordan Timmer] felt comfortable getting her in the offense more tonight and more just lately,” Ault said. “I think she’s stepped up and gotten a little more confidence, gotten more comfortable and is really doing some good things up there.”
GW unraveled to start the second set. No player went for a ball that bounced off the top of the net and flipped over and down to GW’s side of the hardwood. Then, Osuchukwu hit a ball into the strings as Mason got out to a 7-4 lead.
Newman hit another huge kill to make the score 7-5 Mason. Members of the women’s basketball team, all in costume, cheered from the stands. The Colonials didn’t dominate after that point, but they pulled close and had the game tied at 14-14.
“It’s just in the little things, and I think energy is a big thing that we’ve been talking about,” Ault said. “We just need to minimize those runs that they make to come back. We need to stay hungry throughout each set.”
Davidson gave GW the lead with a kill at 14-15 and Osuchukwu followed with another. Timmer went a more subtle route, scoring GW’s third consecutive point with a tap that sent the ball straight down the other side of the net. GW scored its fourth point in a row and Mason took a time-out while a special guest, University President Steven Knapp, watched from the stands.
Out of the time out, the teams went back and forth. Mason surged and survived a set point for the Colonials to pull within one at 23-24, but committed a hitting error to give GW the set, 23-25, again on the back of 16 kills in the set.
The third set was competitive as well, but after going back and forth to 20-22, a Maggie Skjelbred kill followed by a hitting error for George Mason put the Colonials at match point No. 1.
Miscommunication spoiled it when, after a long rally, no one went for the ball on the GW side. But at match point No. 2, Newman sealed the deal with another kill straight down the middle.
That point was the last GW will record in October, which Ault said was good as November means showtime for the team that has four matches remaining until the Atlantic 10 Championship.
“We’re right there and I feel like that switch is going to flip any day now and we’re really going to be like, ‘OK, this is us and we’re going to go,’” Ault said. “You want to be playing your best volleyball in November. We’re still learning and we’re moving forward and we’re doing some good things, I don’t think we’re on the downslide at all, we’ve just got to keep moving.”
GW’s next match comes Friday, Nov. 7 at VCU as the Colonials try to recover from a 3-0 loss to the Rams earlier this season.
