Nov. 23, 2002

Box Score

Harrisonburg, VA - Top-seeded George Mason University defeated fourth-seeded Towson University 30-24, 30-28, 19-30, 30-27 in the semifinal round of the 2002 Colonial Athletic Association Volleyball Tournament held at James Madison University.

"I thought we played steady when we needed to," noted CAA Co-Coach of the Year Pat Kendrick, whose Patriots (21-7, 14-2) will play in the championship match for the third straight year and ninth time in the last 11 years. "I was a little disappointed in how we came out in the third set. The break between games two and three doesn't always serve us well. But we recovered well. Towson played really tough. They're very scrappy and they test you every time out."

Two-time CAA Player of the Year Aline Pereira (Sao Paolo, Brazil) tied a four-game season-high with 35 kills (8.75/game) and hit .435. CAA Setter of the Year Jesica Umansky (Buenos Aires, Argentina) averaged 13.25 assists per game. Freshman Natalia Porosa (Scarborough, Ont.) had a double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs.

First Team All-CAA middle blocker Liz Goubeaux (Lockport, N.Y.) had 16 kills and hit .448 for Towson (23-10, 9-7). CAA Co-Rookie of the Year April Hoffman (Omaha, Neb.) had 14 kills and nine digs along with three aces.

The first game was tight throughout with the score tied late at 22-22. George Mason then pulled away to go up 25-22 and eventually won 30-24. Pereira had eight of the Patriots' 15 kills. Towson committed six service errors.

Game two again was tight with the score tied 15-15. Towson had a three-point run to go up 18-15, forcing GMU into a timeout. The Patriots went on a 12-4 run after the stoppage to go up 27-22. The Tigers fought back to 27-26 only to see the Patriots then go up 29-26. Towson got within 29-28 but the ensuing kill attempt by Jordann Tomasek (Aurora, Ill.) landed out of bounds. Pereira had a game-high nine kills and hit .533.

For the second straight day Towson came out of the break and took charge in game three. The Tigers built a 14-11 lead before Hoffman took serve and went on a seven-point run to build a 10-point margin. Towson eventually put the game away 30-19. They hit .556 as a team. Hoffman led the way with six kills and two service aces.

George Mason jumped out to a 19-11 lead in the fourth game. Towson fought back to 19-16 and kept it close the rest of the way, getting to within 25-24 before the Patriots completed the victory 30-27. Pereira registered 12 kills in the final frame. Umansky picked up 16 assists.

George Mason's championship opponent will be the third-seeded Dukes of James Madison, who defeated Hofstra 3-0 in the other semifinal match. GMU and JMU split their contests during the regular season with each team winning 3-2 on its home court. The Dukes swept the Patriots to win the 2000 title, which was also held at JMU.