Feb. 28, 2004

Box Score

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There was a celebration inside John Linn Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon and it was equal parts joy and relief as the George Mason men's volleyball team finally found itself on the winning end of a match. It took six weeks and 12 matches but the Patriots finally came out victorious, defeating Springfield College, 30-23, 30-24, 30-20 in Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Tait Division action.

The Patriots are as close to healthy as they've been all year but even without two key players the Patriots were able to dominate against a team that beat them just two weeks ago. Springfield, the second-ranked team in NCAA Division III, took a 30-16, 30-28, 29-31, 30-25 win on Feb. 14 when the Patriots were at their nadir. With some rest for the injured players and some experience for the young players, things have slowly turned around.

On Saturday, it was the contributions of veterans Felix Campos, Dave Egan and Dustin Crosby along with the aid of newcomers Arturo Barreiro and Graham Sheppard that led the Patriots to the win. Campos, who is third in the nation in kills per game with 5.11 per game, improved on his average with 16 kills and just four errors in 28 attacks. His .429 hitting percentage was a significant improvement over his season average and he also added four digs, one solo block and one block assist. Crosby added 11 kills and just three errors on 18 attacks along with three digs and one solo block and one block assist.

Egan was exceptional spreading the ball around and providing everyone with opportunities. He had 38 assists and four digs as well as two block assists. Barreiro, meanwhile, recovered from a poor outing earlier in the week to have eight kills and a .429 hitting percentage. Sheppard added eight digs and was .944 on service receptions.

The Patriots had their best hitting performance of the year, hitting .420 for the match. The best the Patriots had hit in a match coming into Saturday was .264 and they were hitting .167 for the season.

Springfield, meanwhile, hit just .112 in the match and no one had more than seven kills, with Clay Spiegel leading the way with seven and four errors on 14 attacks. Ricky Albano had six kills and two errors on 11 attacks. The Pride were also outplayed on defense, as George Mason had 26 kills to Springfield's 17 and 8.5 blocks to Springfield's 3.5. Neither team was particularly strong servicing the ball as Springfield (4-7, 2-4) had 12 service errors and the Patriots (1-11, 1-4) had 15.

The win takes the pressure off the Patriots, who had been visibly tight in previous matches when leading. Now they can focus on playing without worrying about extending a losing streak. They next take the court on Thursday when they host Findlay. Findlay defeated the Patriots three weeks ago, 30-27, 30-23, 29-31, 30-28.