IRVINE, Calif. - The third-ranked UC Irvine men's volleyball team opened its 2024 season with a tough five-set loss to No. 19 George Mason Tuesday at Crawford Hall.
 
The Anteaters (0-1) held a 2-1 set advantage but were unable to close it out as the Patriots came back for the 21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 15-12 victory.
 
This was the fourth match of the season for George Mason (2-2), which played in the Asics Invitational at UC Santa Barbara this past weekend.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Hilir Henno registered a double-double with a match-high 17 kills (.355) and 11 digs
>Henno also finished with five blocks and two aces
>Maxim Grigoriev, Connor Campbell and Nolan Flexen had 10 kills apiece
>Campbell hit at a .471 clip (10-2-17), while Grigoriev added six block assists
>Beck Weber was dominant at the net with eight block assists
>Brett Sheward dished out 37 assists in four sets played and Cole Power contributed nine digs
>As a team, the 'Eaters won the battle in hitting percentage (.277-.221), digs (35-30) and blocks (14-8.5)
>George Mason had three players reach double figures in kills, led by Jack Bolz with 14
>Liam French (4) and Omar Hoyos (3) also combined for seven of the Patriots' 10 service aces
 
FIRST SET
>The two teams went back-and-forth early with eight tie scores
>The Anteaters then reeled off four unanswered to pull ahead, 13-9
>After calling a timeout, George Mason responded with a 5-0 spurt to go up, 14-13
>Campbell ended the rally with a kill and a Grigoriev ace put UCI back on top by two
>The 'Eaters continued on an 11-6 run, capped by a kill from Grigoriev, to take set point at 24-20
>The Patriots sided out but followed with a service error to give UC Irvine the set, 25-21
 
SECOND SET
>It was a tightly-contested second set with 15 ties and six lead changes
>The Anteaters took the first multiple-point advantage at 12-10 and maintained that margin at 13-11 on a Henno kill
>Mason then scored three-straight points for a 14-13 edge
>Campbell knotted the score with a kill and another seesaw battle ensued
>George Mason eventually created some separation with a 6-2 run to take a 23-20 lead
>Despite kills from Campbell and Henno, the Patriots were able to hang on for the 25-22 victory
 
THIRD SET
>The 'Eaters took control midway through the third frame after Henno broke a 15-15 deadlock with a kill
>Grigoriev and Weber then combined for a double block and Grigoriev followed with a kill to give UCI an 18-15 lead
>UC Irvine stayed out front and went up by as many as five on a Patriots hitting error (23-18)
>Mason was able to get a point back on an ace, but Henno eventually put down his 12th kill to end the set at 25-21
 
FOURTH SET
>George Mason used a 5-0 rally to go on top, 10-5, in the fourth
>Back-to-back kills from Henno and Grigoriev cut the deficit to three, but the Patriots would go back up by five at 12-7
>Mason stayed out front until a 10-5 run, capped by a triple block from Akhil Tangutur, Joe Karlous and Weber, brought UC Irvine even at 22-22
>The Patriots then scored three of the next four points for the 25-23 win
 
FIFTH SET
>George Mason carried the momentum into the decisive fifth set where it took an early 3-0 lead
>After an Anteater sideout, Mason used another 3-0 push to increase its margin to 6-1
>Tangutur responded with a kill, but the visitors made the side switch with an 8-3 advantage
>The Patriots went up by as many as eight before UCI used an 8-2 rally that ended with a Henno ace to cut the deficit to 14-12
>George Mason called a timeout and secured the match-clinching kill after the short break
 
NOTES
>Hilir Henno finished with a pair of aces, upping his career total to 134, which is two away from breaking the Big West record
>Maxim Grigoriev's 10 kills matched his career high which he set against Concordia Irvine on Jan. 21, 2023
>Transfers Brett Sheward and Nolan Flexen made the start in their Anteater debuts
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine is right back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 10, when it hosts Saint Francis in a 6 p.m. showdown on Court 21 at Crawford Hall.