March 18, 2003
Box Score
FAIRFAX, VA ... Senior Dennis Alshuler (Corona del Mar, CA) posted a match-high 19 kills, on .586 hitting, to lead the Princeton University men's volleyball team over George Mason University, 3-0 (30-24, 30-23, 30-27), at the John Linn Memorial Gym.
The Patriots, who earned three votes in the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I-II Coaches Top 15 Poll released today, dropped their first match to an unranked team this season and their second straight conference match, falling to 10-8 overall and 8-2 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tait Division, while the Tigers win their second straight to improve to 13-8 overall and 6-5 in the conference.
George Mason struggled offensively, hitting just .187 for the match with two starters recording negative hitting percentages. Princeton fared better, tallying a .322 team mark. Defensively, the Patriots outblocked the Tigers, 8.5 to 6.0, led by sophomore Dave Egan (Toronto, Canada/Senator O'Connor) with a match-high five blocks.
The Patriots scored four consecutive points to jump out to an early 9-5 lead in game one on a block by Egan, sophomore Shaun Powell (Toronto, Canada/Francis Libermann) and junior Peter Fabbro (West Seneca, NY/Orchard Park). But the Tigers chipped away at their lead and used a five-point run to take the 19-14 advantage on an ace by sophomore Ryn Burns (Encinitas, CA). The Patriots cut their deficit to two at 19-17, but were unable to come back. Princeton took game one, 30-24, on a block by freshman Brian Hamming (Lake Forest, IL) and senior Ray Robins (Pasa Robles, CA).
Game two mirrored the first set with George Mason grabbing an early 9-6 lead on a solo block by Powell. Princeton responded with a five-point run to take the 13-12 lead on a block by Alshuler and sophomore Sean Vitousek (Kamjela, HI). A Tiger attack error and a kill by sophomore Felix Campos (Puerto Nuevo, Puerto Rico/Colegio San Antonio) put the Patriots up 14-13, but consecutive George Mason errors gave Princeton the lead for good. The Tigers won game two, 30-23, on an Alshuler kill.
The Patriots scored the first three points of game three and held onto the lead for much of the game. They led by as many as three points and were still up at 21-20 on a kill by freshman Matt Steinfurth (Portsmouth, VA/Woodrow Wilson). The teams battled through six more ties, until an Alshuler kill followed by consecutive George Mason errors sealed the win for Princeton. The Tigers won game three 30-27.
Sophomore Blake Robinson (Aliso Viejo, CA) also added double-figure kills for the Tigers, finishing with 11. Junior Jason Liljestrom (Irvine, CA) posted a match-high 41 assists.
Powell led the Patriots in the loss with a team-high 18 kills on .324 hitting with two blocks and an ace. Steinfurth added 12 kills, four digs and tied his career-high with two solo blocks. Egan had a team-high 34 assists for George Mason, while junior Brad Kniewel (Ringwood, NJ/Lakeland Regional) added a match-high six digs.
The Patriots return to action this weekend hosting two conference matches. They face St. Francis (PA) on Friday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m., and take on Concordia on Sunday, March 23, at 2 p.m.
