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George Mason Outlasts Late Rally by William & Mary, Hull Breaks Single Season Steals Record

Published

7 months ago

May 8, 2025

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WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Up one run with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the ninth inning in Plumeri Park, the George Mason Patriots shut the door on William & Mary’s late game rally with a flyout to center to end Wednesday evening’s sub-four hour game with an 8-7 win. The Patriots improve their overall record to 33-16 and sweep the season home-and-home series against the Tribe.

THE LEADOFF

Owen Hull tied his season-high of three stolen bases for the fourth time and currently has 37 stolen bases this season. He is now the single season record holder in bases stolen, breaking Lonnie Goldberg’s record of 36 set in 1992.

The Patriots scored six unanswered runs in the middle inning, which proved to be enough to hold off William and Mary’s late-game rally.

Freshman pitcher Jake Drumm won his fourth game of the season. He is now 4-0 in his rookie season and has won his first decision since getting the win as a reliever against Towson on March 9 in Tysons, Va.

Freshman pitcher Miachel Bilo notched his first collegiate save.

Junior shortstop Owen Clyne recorded a game-high three RBI which included an RBI triple in the sixth inning; Along with Clyne, freshman left fielder Lucas Alberti had a team-high two hits.

George Mason has swept William & Mary in the season’s home-and-home series; the last time the Patriots have defeated the Tribe twice in a row was in the 2012 season (March 23 & 25).

The Patriots have won 16 of their last 20 games and are now on a four-game winning streak. They now hold a 12-12 record on the road.

The Patriots struck first in the top of the first inning with Clyne on third and sophomore center fielder Owen Hull stealing second. Sophomore third baseman Jake Butler drove in the game’s first run with a single up the middle.

After Butler stole second, there were runners again on second and third with only one out. Freshman left fielder Lucas Alberti plated the second run of the inning with an RBI groundout to short, scoring Hull from third.

The Patriots did not hold the initial lead for long, as William & Mary (20-28, 13-8 CAA) put up three runs in the bottom of the first.

Similar to the Patriots, the Tribe had runners on second and third with only one out when freshman third baseman Jamie Laskofski single through the right side to score leadoff runner Ben Parker.

With runners on the corners, the following batter, graduate student first baseman Derek Holmes, laid down a squeeze play scoring redshirt senior Lucas Carmichael from third and advancing Laskofski to second.

The third run of the inning was plated by subsequent batter, sophomore designated hitter Anthony Greco, with an RBI single through the right side, bringing Carmichael home.

After the Patriots were retired in order in the second, the Tribe added one more run with two out in the bottom of the inning due to a Patriot infield error, scoring Parker for a second time in the game.

After the Tribe’s second inning score, they would be held scoreless until the bottom of the eighth. In that six inning span, the Patriots were able to score in every inning except for the seventh.

George Mason (33-16, 17-7 A-10) brought the game back to within one run the following inning, not before sophomore center fielder Owen Hull broke the Patriot single season steals record.

Hull, the leadoff hitter, got on first by a hit by pitch. He then stole his second bag of the day during James Quinn-Irons’ at-bat. After Quinn-Irons drew a walk, Hull stole the record-breaking base at third during Jake Butler’s at-bat.

With his 37^th stolen base, the Alexandria, Va., native has sole possession of the program’s single season stolen bases record. The previous record was set in 1992 by Lonnie Goldberg.

With Hull on third and junior center fielder James Quinn-Irons on second, Hull scored on a wild pitch during Butler’s at-bat.

Though the Patriots scored early in the inning with nobody out, that would be the only run generated.

The bottom of the third was quick for the Tribe, as they were retired in order. In the top of the fourth, the Patriots scored two runs to take the lead on zero hits in the inning.

After back-to-back walks drawn by graduate students Jonny Wall and Nick Barenz to lead off the frame, they both advanced one base due to a wild pitch during junior right fielder Drew Canody’s at-bat. Canody drove in the game-tying run with an RBI ground out to short, scoring Wall and advancing Barenz to third.

The next Patriot batter, Clyne, also grounded out to short, scoring Barenz. After a Hull flyout to end the inning, the Patriots had taken a 5-4 lead.

The Patriots handed the Tribe another shutdown inning to close out the fourth, and Alberti collected his second RBI of the game with an one run single to left center, scoring Butler from second.

In the top of the sixth with the Patriots leading 6-4, George Mason hit back-to-back triples to once again extend the lead. After the Tribe struck out leadoff hitter Barenz, Canody lined a triple to right center. Following Canody was Clyne, who hit a triple to right center of his own, easily plating the seventh run of the game.

George Mason scored their eighth and final run with the eighth inning when leadoff Patriots Wall and Barenz were both hit by pitch by Tribe reliever Connor Kolarov. After Daniel Lingle replaced Kolarov on the mound, both Patriots advanced one base due to a balk.

With runners on second and third with one out, Clyne grounded out to first, but Wall was able to sprint home to score.

Similar to the top of the inning, William & Mary’s first two hitters got on base due to hit by pitches. After both advanced one base on a wild pitch, Laskofski singled up the middle with a two-run single. Laskofski would later score in the inning with a Henry Jackson RBI single. At the end of the three-run Tribe inning, the Patriots were hanging on to a 8-7 advantage.

The Patriots were retired in order in the top of the ninth, and the Tribe began their last rally. With freshman Michael Bilo taking the mound, he started the inning getting leadoff hitter Owen Wilson to flyout to right. However, William & Mary’s second batter, Ben Parker, drew a walk, and Charlie Iriotakis doubled to left center.

Bilo recorded a crucial second out of the inning, striking out Tribe slugger Christian Rush looking.

Up next was Laskofski, who was intentionally walked in order to load the bases and create a force-out on any infield hit. With the bases loaded and two out, William & Mary’s Holmes ultimately ended the game with a flyout to center field’s Hull.

Bilo recorded his first collegiate save and George Mason pitcher Jake Drumm got the winning decision. Drumm now has four wins on the season and won his first game since March 9 against Towson in Tysons, Va.

The Patriots hit the road again, this time for a three-game Atlantic 10 series at Davidson beginning Friday with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. at Wilson Field.

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Cincinnati Enquirer names 2025 girls volleyball all-city teams

Published

3 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Updated Dec. 10, 2025, 8:20 p.m. ET

The 2025 high school girls volleyball season brought two state championships to Cincinnati and a state runner-up to Northern Kentucky.

But more than that, the action on the court each night showcased some of the best talent each state had to offer.

Here are The Enquirer’s 2025 all-city teams for each division in Ohio, plus Northern Kentucky and Indiana.

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Pitt volleyball to host 2026 Opening Spike Classic

Published

3 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Pitt volleyball will begin the 2026 campaign with two major tests, as the Panthers were announced as hosts for the Opening Spike Classic, featuring matchups against Kansas and Wisconsin.

The two-day event at Petersen Events Center will be televised nationally on ESPN and see Pitt play the Jayhawks Aug. 28 and Badgers on Aug. 30. Stanford and Wisconsin also play on the event’s first day, followed by the Jayhawks vs. the Cardinal on Day 2.

The Opening Spike Classic debuted last season with the Badgers playing host to matches featuring Kansas, Creighton and Texas.

“We’re excited to kick off opening weekend by hosting three of the best teams in the country,” Pitt coach Dan Fisher said in statement. “Fans can look forward to high-level volleyball right here in Pittsburgh. If we want to be the best, we have to play the best, and we’re doing that right away.”

The No. 1-seeded Panthers (28-4, 18-2 ACC) host No. 4 Minnesota at 7 p.m. Thursday in the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals.

A win over the Gophers would propel the Panthers, who have advanced to the Final Four for the last four consecutive seasons, to the Elite 8, where they’d face the winner of the regional semifinal match between No. 2 SMU and No. 3 Purdue.

Next year’s Opening Spike Classic participants — Stanford, Kansas and Wisconsin — are all also currently competing for a national title.

No. 4 Kansas faces No. 1 Nebraska on Friday night, while No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 Wisconsin square off in the afternoon.

The Opening Spike Classic is organized by PlayFly Sports in collaboration with JMI Sports, exclusive multimedia rights holder for Pitt Athletics.

“We are thrilled to be bringing this event back for a second year and to build on the momentum we created with the event launch last year,” said Michael Neuman, co-head of Playfly Sports Consulting. “The Opening Spike Classic is a celebration of women’s achievements in sports, and there is no better way to recognize that than by bringing together these top college volleyball teams to compete.”

Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. A Pittsburgh native, he is a Central Catholic and University of Colorado graduate. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at jguerriero@triblive.com.

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Nebraska Huskers Dominate All-Region Volleyball Honors

Published

3 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Bergen Reilly sets the ball to a slide attack. | Amarillo Mullen

Rebekah Allick (5) celebrates a Husker point in set two. — Bergen Reilly sets the ball to a slide attack. | Amarillo Mullen

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Pitt volleyball among four elite programs set for 2026 Opening Spike Classic

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3 hours ago

December 11, 2025

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Three Golden Knights Named AVCA All-Americans

Published

4 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association today released its 2025 AVCA All-Americans. Included in the list are three Gannon players – Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey/Private Çankaya Doga Anatolian), Lauren Atwell (Mars, Pa./Mars Area), and Sydney Wake (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson). It comes after Gannon had four honorable mention All-Americans a year ago, although all graduated.

The Golden Knights are currently in Sioux Falls, SD preparing for the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. Head coach Matt Darling‘s squad won its second straight Atlantic Regional to advance to the Elite Eight. Gannon is the number seven seed and will face No. 2 seed Concordia-St. Paul, the Central Region champion, at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Makenna Nold of Concordia-St. Paul was named the AVCA Division II Player of the Year.

Arslan is now a two-time AVCA Honorable Mention All-American after previously earning the honor in 2022. The native of Ankara, Turkey was earlier named to the AVCA All-Atlantic Region team for the second time and is also a D2CCA All-Atlantic Region selection.

Gannon’s setter was chosen the PSAC West Athlete of the Year and is now a three-time All-PSAC West selection. She was a first team choice in 2022 and 2025 and was named to the second team in 2024. In addition, she was the 2022 PSAC West Freshman of the Year.

Arslan enters the Elite Eight with has 1,3759 assists, the second-highest season total. In fact, she now owns three of the top nine season assists totals, in the process boosting her career total to 4,481 assists. That is also good for second all-time. She leads the PSAC in assists per set (11.18), good for 10th in Division II.

She also stands second on the team in service aces (46) and third in digs with 298. She now has 1,140 career digs. She is tied for seventh in career service aces (175), along with seventh in sets played (457) and tied for eighth in matches played (128).

Atwell and Wake are first-time AVCA All-Americans, with Atwell the force at the net and Wake emerging as Gannon’s top hitter. Both were previously named first team AVCA All-Atlantic Region performers and second team D2CCA All-Atlantic Region selections. They were both also named to the All-PSAC West first team.

A 6-foot-3 middle blocker, Atwell leads the Golden Knights with 105 blocks, with team highs of 28 solo blocks and 77 block assists, while tied for in kills with 260. She ranks ninth in the PSAC in blocks per set. The junior also leads the team in hitting percentage at .333, good for fourth in the PSAC. She has moved up to fourth in career blocks with 365.

Wake entered her junior season with 82 career kills but the 5-foot-11 middle blocker has exploded for a team-high 347 kills and is second in hitting percentage at .298. She is also third in total blocks with 66 and fifth in digs with 133.

All three players were named to the Atlantic Regional All-Tournament Team last weekend.

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Becker, Marusak and Stow Earn All-American Accolades

Published

4 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M’s Emma Becker, Currie Marusak and Taytum Stow earned the highest honor a Division II volleyball student-athlete can receive on Wednesday as the trip of Lady Buffs were tabbed All-Americans.

Stow was named a Second Team honoree by the American Volleyball Coaches Association with Becker and Marusak claiming Honorable Mention accolades. Stow was also named to the D2CCA Third Team All-American squad.

Becker earned her third straight AVCA All-American honors as the Liberty Hill, Texas product registered 348 kills with a .212 attack percentage to go along with 17 assists, 10 service aces, 266 digs and 65 total blocks for a total of 396.5 points to average 3.51 per set. Becker was a First Team All-Lone Star Conference selection.

Marusak becomes the 33rd All-American in WT Volleyball history as she led the way offensively for the Lady Buffs during her senior campaign in 2025. The Amarillo High School alum had a team-best 410 kills on 1,008 swings for an attack percentage of .254 to go along with 14 aces, 282 digs and 49.0 blocks for a team-leading 452.0 points to average 4.00 per set as she was named to the All-Lone Star Conference First Team as well as the LSC Championship All-Tournament Team.

Stow, the three-time Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Year, became one of the top players in Division II Volleyball during her storied career. The Hereford, Texas product is now a four-time All-American as she set new school all-time marks in total blocks and solo blocks this season while leading the Lady Buffs to the program’s 32nd NCAA Tournament. Stow tallied 290 kills with an attack percentage of .396 to go along with 19 service aces, 72 digs and an incredible 155 total blocks to average 1.37 per set.

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