Nov. 13, 2004
Box Score
The George Mason women's volleyball team earned a spot in the CAA Tournament on Saturday night by defeating Delaware 28-30, 30-27, 30-20, 30-25. The Patriots rallied from one-set down against the Blue Hens, who finished the regular season third in the conference standings, behind strong play from several key players.
Natalia Porosa had 17 kills and just two errors with 12 digs while middle blockers Janelle Wilson and Chantal Bodkin-Clarke combined for 21 kills and a .463 hitting percentage. Niki Bernardes also had 13 kills and 11 digs while Jesica Umansky had 52 assists and 14 digs. Zulma Rojas added 21 digs, including the 500th of her career.
Sarah Engle was almost unstoppable for Delaware. She finished the match with 19 kills and a .326 hitting percentage but that was after she cooled off. She opened the match by converting kills on 14 of her first 22 attacks, without an error. The Blue Hens hit .090 in the match but just .008 without Engle. Delaware stayed in the match by getting to the floor, as it collected 85 digs. Delaware also made just five service errors to Mason's 18.
Engle had 17 digs to go with her 19 kills while Claire McCormack had 17 digs and Taylor Govaars added 19. Allison Lutz also had 12 digs.
The Patriots not only hit better, with a .213 hitting percentage, but defensively they played strong at the net, with 16 total team blocks. Bodkin-Clarke had nine block assists to go with 12 kills and just one hitting error while Wilson had one solo block and three block assists to go with her nine kills. Jaqueline Kohler and Porosa each had five block assists while Bernardes had two solo blocks and one block assist.
The Patriots entered the weekend tied with William & Mary and one game ahead of James Madison in the CAA standings. Only the top four teams make the postseason tournament and Mason had the toughest road, hosting the second-place and third-place teams. By sweeping Hofstra on Friday and downing Delaware on Saturday, the Patriots seized control of their own fate, as James Madison defeated William & Mary on Friday to put Mason alone in fourth place.
The win over Delaware was the final home match for senior setter Jesica Umansky. The four-year veteran goes into the Mason record books as second in career assists and fourth in career service aces. She also is now just six digs shy of 1,000 for her career. This season, Umansky is averaging 2.89 digs per game.
The Patriots play on Saturday at Towson against the top-seeded Tigers in the opening round of the single-elimination CAA Tournament at 5 p.m. The Patriots are the two-time defending CAA champions and they will be looking for their third-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
