Jan. 15, 2003

Box Score

COLUMBUS, OH ... The George Mason University men's volleyball team fell to 1-2 on the season with a 3-2 (28-30, 30-26, 30-25, 29-31, 15-11) loss at No. 13 Ohio State on Wednesday evening. Ohio State improved to 2-0 with the win.

The Patriots had their best defensive outing of the season, outblocking the Buckeyes 18.5 to 10.5. George Mason also edged Ohio State in team hitting, .262 to .261, but struggled with 28 service errors.

In a close game one, George Mason broke a 28-all tie with a kill by senior Art Kulans (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South) to reach 29-28. A block by freshman Matt Steinfurth (Portsmouth, VA/Woodrow Wilson) and junior Dustin Crosby, (Virginia Beach, VA/Kempsville) claimed the first game for the Patriots, 30-28. Both teams struggled offensively, with the Buckeyes hitting .122 and the Patriots at a paltry .083.

Tied at 11-all in game two, the Buckeyes pulled away with a 15-11 lead on two Patriot errors and consecutive Ohio State kills. The Buckeyes held the lead and won game two, 30-26, on one of senior Tom Trantow's match-high 23 kills. Both teams improved their hitting, with Ohio State owning the .333 to .276 advantage.

Consecutive Buckeye kills and Patriot errors gave Ohio State the early 4-0 lead in game three. They maintained their lead and won the game, 30-25, on a George Mason service error. Both teams hit well in the game, with the Buckeyes at .435 and the Patriots at .346.

With game four tied at 20-all, a kill by sophomore Shaun Powell (Toronto, Canada/Francis Libermann) and an ace by Steinfurth powered a five-point Patriot run, capped off with three Ohio State hitting errors. The Buckeyes closed their deficit to two at 25-23, and a Patriot error again brought Ohio State within two at 29-27. Consecutive kills by Buckeye freshman Mark Greaves tied the game at 29-all. Ohio State committed a service error to give the Patriots the 30-29 advantage, and George Mason stayed alive as they won gave four, 31-29, on a block by Steinfurth and Powell. The Patriots outhit their opponents .353 to .242 in the game.

In game five the Buckeyes jumped out to an early 3-1 lead, but a kill by senior James Claney (Northbrook, IL/Glenbrook North) and a block by Steinfurth and sophomore Dave Egan (Toronto, Canada/Senator O'Connor) tied the game up at three-all. Ohio State opened up a four-point lead at 9-5, and the Patriots managed to come within two at 9-7, 10-8, 11-9 and 12-10. A Patriot hitting error and a Buckeye block set match point for Ohio State at 14-10. A Buckeye service error made it 14-11, but a Trantow kill sealed the win for Ohio State, with the 15-11 game-five victory. Ohio State outhit the Patriots in the game .273 to .154.

In the loss the Patriots were led by Powell with a team-high 16 kills, six blocks, four digs and two aces. Claney and Steinfurth added 11 kills apiece. Steinfurth also recorded a career- and match-high 10 blocks, a dig and an ace. Claney added seven blocks and two aces. Kulans finished with 10 kills, five digs and two assists, while Egan posted a team-high 52 assists, seven blocks, three kills and four digs for the Patriots. Junior Brad Kniewel (Ringwood, NJ/Lakeland Regional) added a team-high seven digs.

The Patriots return to action at No. 11 Lewis on Friday, January 24, at 7 p.m. and then take on Laval (Canada) on Saturday, January 25, at 1 p.m., in a non-NCAA match George Mason closes out the weekend at Indiana-Purdue at Ft. Wayne on Sunday, January 26, at 4 p.m. IPFW collected 20 votes in the latest USA Today/AVCA Coaches Top 15 Poll.