Fairfax, Va. – The RMU volleyball team opened play at the Mason Invite, suffering a 3-0 defeat to the host George Mason on Friday night in Fairfax, Va. at the Recreation and Athletic Complex.

With the loss, the Colonials fall to 2-4 this season while the Patriots improve to 3-5 overall.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
It was a back-and-forth affair to begin the opening set as the two teams traded the first eight points to begin the match. George Mason would use a 5-1 run to jump out to a 9-5 lead before holding a 16-12 lead later in the set. The Colonials would respond by scoring six of the next eight points to knot the score at 18-18. Senior Abby Ryan began the surge with a kill before freshman Natalie Stepanovich connected on two consecutive successful swings. Graduate student Rosina Esposito capped the run by finding the floor with a point. Later in the set, RMU would tie the score at 22 all, thanks to three consecutive kills from Esposito and a point from Ryan. Sophomore Kaitlyn Brown and Stepanovich would give the Colonials a 24-23 advantage before George Mason countered with three straight points to take the set.

TWO-THREE
The Patriots used 16 kills and a .323 attacking percentage to claim a two-set lead, 25-19. In the third set, George Mason jumped out to a 5-4 advantage before the Colonials scored five of the next seven points to hold a 9-7 lead. Ryan, Stepanovich, and junior Abby Powers all collected kills while classmate Ashleigh Wallin registered a service ace. RMU would gain an 11-9 advantage before the Patriots used an 8-2 surge to claim a 17-13 lead. The Colonials would respond by scoring four of the next five points to trim the deficit, 18-17. Stepanovich, Kaitlyn Brown, and senior Emma Brown all recorded kills during the run. George Mason ended the set on a 7-1 run to claim the match.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
A pair of Colonials ended with double-figure kills, paced by Abby Ryan with 12. She carded her sixth straight game with double digit kills while also collecting eight digs and three blocks. Rosina Esposito ended with 10 kills and a .320 hitting percentage along with just two errors and three blocks. Natalie Stepanovich fell shy of another double-double with nine kills and nine digs as well as a service ace for RMU. Ashleigh Wallin controlled the offense for the Colonials, finishing with 19 assists, five digs, and one service ace while Kaitlyn Brown produced 15 assists, four digs, and three kills.

UP NEXT
RMU continues play at the Mason Invite on Saturday, Sept. 9, with a pair of matches. They square off against Brown at 11:00 a.m. before taking on Radford at 6:00 p.m. to close the invitational.

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