Box Score State College, Pa. – Charleston falls in straight sets to George Mason in the EIVA Semifinal round.
The Basics:
Location: Rec Hall
Score: UC 0, GMU 3
Records: UC 13-16 (3-7 EIVA), George Mason 18-9 (6-4 EIVA)
How it Happened:
The Golden Eagles of Charleston and the Patriots of George Mason were the first game of the semifinal round at Rec Hall on Thursday. The sixth seeded Golden Eagles advanced to the semifinal round after defeating the third seeded Princeton Tigers in straight sets in the opening game of the 2024 EIVA tournament.
From the opening serve, the first several points of the game went back and forth, the set tied at 4-4 before Charleston took the lead off a Paul Stommel service ace, but the next several points were traded again until Charleston took a two-point advantage after a Jesse Delancy kill and George Mason attack error. The Patriots responded with back-to-back points to even the score once more at 8-8. The next four points were traded, and Charleston head coach Luke Reynolds called a timeout at 10-10. The Golden Eagles took went on a three-point run to take the two-point advantage after back-to-back Garret Schnitker kills, Charleston leading 14-12 as George Mason called a timeout. The set continued to go back and forth; the teams tied at 18-18 before a Charleston service error gave the Patriots the advantage late in the set. The teams continued to battle and trade side outs, Charleston taking a late set one-point lead at 22-21 as Mason called their second timeout of the set. Coming out of the timeout, George Mason scored the next four of five points to take the first set victory 25-23.
The Patriots kept the momentum and started set two up 3-0 over the Golden Eagles. Charleston was forced to call a timeout early in the set after trailing 6-2, the timeout looking to be a smart idea as Charleston quickly scored the next two points to get back in the game. The Patriots responded and once again extended their lead, Charleston trailing 10-5. The Golden Eagles continued to struggle, trailing 19-12 deep into the second set. The Patriots comfortably took the set 25-16, Charleston trailing two sets to none in the match.
After a fired-up speech from assistant coach Robert Poole, the Golden Eagles took the opening point in set three on a Jesse Delancy kill. Charleston continued to excel, jumping ahead 7-4 over the Patriots. Mason responded and scored the next three to even the set at 7-7. The teams proceeded to trade points, Mason leading 12-11 after a service error. After back-to-back George Mason points to take the lead 18-15, Charleston called a timeout. After the timeout, the Patriots served back-to-back aces to extend their lead to 20-15. Jesse Delancy got the side out for Charleston with a kill, but a service error gave Mason the five-point lead right back, the Patriots just four points from the victory. The Patriots closed out the third set 25-18, taking the straight set victory over Charleston.
Garret Schnitker ended the match with fifteen kills and a .367 hitting percentage.
