Feb. 28, 2003

Box Score

FAIRFAX, VA ... Senior Art Kulans (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South) posted a match-high 15 kills to lead the George Mason University men's volleyball team over New York University, 3-0 (30-25, 30-24, 30-21), at home in the John Linn Memorial Gym. The Patriots win their third straight match to remain undefeated in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Tait Division, and have won eight of their last nine matches.

The Patriots improve to 9-6 overall and 7-0 in the conference, while the Violets fall to 3-11 overall with a 0-8 conference mark. For the match George Mason outhit NYU .388 to .186 and outblocked them 11 to four.

In game one George Mason took the 25-22 lead on a Kulans kill. Consecutive Patriot errors brought the Violets within one, but George Mason put together a four-point run, including consecutive kills by sophomore Shaun Powell (Toronto, Canada/Francis Libermann) to go up 29-24. The Patriots won game one, 30-25, on an NYU service error. George Mason outblocked NYU six to zero in the game, led by senior James Claney (Northbrook, IL/Glenbrook North) with four blocks.

George Mason used two three-point runs to take the 10-6 lead in game two, capped off with a kill by sophomore Felix Campos (Puerto Nuevo, Puerto Rico/Colegio San Antonio). The Patriots led by as many as seven points, and claimed game two, 30-24, on Kulans' seventh kill of the game.

The Patriots dominated game three from the start, outscoring the Violets 7-1 for the early lead. George Mason went up 15-4 on a Powell kill, before NYU managed a five-point run, including scoring on three Patriot attack errors, to come within six. George Mason's 22 kills, compared to just nine by the Violets, powered the Patriots to a 30-21 game three win.

Kulans' 15 kills brings him just 71 shy of the 1,000-kill mark for his career. He hit at .400, adding eight digs, three blocks and three assists in the win. Three other Patriots recorded double-figure kills, led by Campos with 13, hitting at .526, with an ace and four digs. Freshman Matt Steinfurth (Portsmouth, VA/Woodrow Wilson) added 10 kills, hitting at a match-high .692, with six digs, four blocks and an assist. Powell finished with 10 kills, seven digs, four assists, three blocks and a match-high two aces. Claney, who leads the league in blocking average, finished with a match-high seven blocks and eight kills, while sophomore Dave Egan (Toronto, Canada/Senator O'Connor) added a match-high 29 assists, six digs and three blocks in two games. Junior Brad Kniewel (Ringwood, NJ/Lakeland Regional) recorded a match-high 11 digs.

NYU was led by junior Evan Finch (Lydenhurst, NY/Lydenhurst) with 14 kills and four digs, while senior Thom Stone (Dallas, TX/Redwood) added 11 kills and seven digs. Senior Daniel O'Shea (Huntington, NY/Walt Whitman) recorded 28 assists for the Violets.

The Patriots return to action on Saturday, March 1, at home versus conference-opponent Juniata (8-5, 3-5 EIVA) at 7 p.m.