March 4, 2003
Box Score
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - Behind senior Carlos Guerra's 32 kills, the 10th-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team defeated George Mason in five games (30-28, 28-30, 30-19, 25-30, 15-12) in a match that lasted two hours and seven minutes. The Nittany Lions improve to 13-3 and remain perfect in the EIVA Tait division at 9-0 while the Patriots fall to 10-7, 8-1 in conference action.
In addition to Guerra, junior Keith Kowal pounded home a season-high 16 kills to hit .636 while junior Norm Keil posted a season-high 15 kills. Penn State outhit George Mason .417 to .357 in its first five-game match of the season.
The Patriots outblocked the Nittany Lions 12.0 to 11.0 including seven blocks by James Claney. With 460 career blocks, Claney moves up a notch into second place in George Mason all-time history in career blocks. The record of 594 is held by former Patriot Scott Metcalf (1989-92).
George Mason was led by Shaun Powell with 18 kills while Dustin Crosby added 17 and three other Patriots posted double-digit kill figures. Dave Egan dished out 63 assists while Crosby led the defense with six digs.
Penn State took the 2-0 lead in the fifth and deciding game before the Patriots came back to tie the score at 3-3. The teams traded points before back-to-back kills from Penn State gave the Nittany Lions the 6-4 advantage. Keil pounded a quick set in the middle to end the game 15-12 in Penn State's favor. Penn State outhit George Mason .625 to .467 for the game.
George Mason grabbed the 12-7 lead in the first game before Penn State bounced back to tie the game at 14-14 on a service ace from Keil. Three ties ensued before a Patriot attack error and a kill gave Penn State the 19-17 lead. George Mason pulled to within one at 24-23 but a Kowal kill allowed Penn State the two point advantage. A Patriot attack error ended the first game 30-28. Penn State outhit George Mason .581 to .429.
The Nittany Lions jumped out to the early 4-1 lead in the second game but George Mason fought back to take the 6-5 lead on three consecutive Penn State attacking errors. The Patriots then went on a 13-6 run to bring their lead to 19-11. The Nittany Lions fought back to within one at 25-24 but it wasn't enough as George Mason took the second game 30-28.
Penn State carried the momentum gained at the end of the second game over into the third, grabbing an 18-9 lead. The Nittany Lions cruised the rest of the game, taking the third set 30-19 on a Keil kill. Penn State outhit George Mason .455 to .258.
The fourth game began with both teams trading points before George Mason took the 6-3 lead and the momentum of the game. Penn State clawed back to within three at 13-10 but a service error gave the Patriots the four point advantage. George Mason went on a 6-3 run to make the score 20-13 and held on for the rest of the game, winning 30-25. George Mason outhit Penn State .441 to .290 for the set.
