SCORE: UAlbany 3, George Mason 1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-18)
 
LOCATION: Recreational Athletic Complex - Fairfax, Va.
 
RECORDS: UAlbany 3-7, 0-0 AE | George Mason 4-7, 0-0 A10
 
SHORT STORY: After falling in the first set, the Great Danes won three close sets to take the victory over host, George Mason, Friday night.
 
COACH JOSH PICKARD: "Very happy with the team's play tonight. We started off slow but came together and turned things around. It is great to start the weekend with a win and especially in the home team's gym."
 
KEY STATS

• Redshirt-sophomore Shynelle Woroniuk notched her first double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs.
• Junior Sthefany Carvalho led the Great Danes with 16 digs.
• Redshirt-sophomore Kendall Harris compiled a team-high 15 kills with a .542 hitting percentage.
• Junior Zosia Szczotkiewicz tallied over 10 assists per set (42 total) as the primary setter.
• The Great Danes totaled six service aces with senior Elisavet Papageorgiou tallying two.
• As a team, UAlbany earned a .310 hitting percentage.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Great Danes scored the first point of the match but a GMU scoring run made it 5-1 early on.
• After a 5-1 scoring run, UAlbany called a timeout.
• Going back and forth, the Great Danes slowly closed the point gap but it was the Patriots taking the first set, 25-20.
• UAlbany opened the second set with five unanswered points.
• After a GMU timeout, the teams traded points until the Patriots took a 12-11 lead with a 7-0 scoring run.
• In what proved to be the closest set of them all, UAlbany and George Mason tied the score nine additional times before the Great Danes took a 25-23 win.
• Continuing the style of play from the end of the second set, the two teams went back and forth in the beginning of the third.
• GMU gained a four-point lead with five unanswered points.
• The Great Danes regained the lead as Elisavet Papageorgiou served a 9-0 scoring run.
• With UAlbany up by four points, 13-9, the teams traded points until the Great Danes added a 6-1 scoring run for a 23-17 advantage.
• The Patriots attempted to close the point gap with four straight points, including three from blocks, but the Purple and Gold closed the third set with their second set win, 25-21.
• For the second straight set, the Great Danes and the Patriots opened the fourth, and final, set with back-and-forth action.
• A 5-0 scoring run gave GMU an 8-4 lead.
• After tying the score at nine, UAlbany took an 18-13 advantage with a 9-2 scoring run.
• The Patriots called a timeout which led to back-and-forth action but it was not enough as the Great Danes had secured the set win, 25-18, for the match, 3-1.

 
NEXT: The Great Danes will continue the Patriot Invite with MTSU and Seattle on Saturday (Sept. 16).
 
For more information on the University at Albany volleyball team, follow the squad's official social media accounts shown below.
Twitter - @ualbanyvb
Instagram & Threads - @ualbanyvb
Facebook – facebook.com/UAlbanyVB