Jan. 22, 2005

Box Score

Muncie, Ind. - The George Mason men's volleyball team showed that it's no pretender on Saturday night and that demonstration came at the hands of nationally-ranked Ball State. The Patriots, playing in front of a crowd of more than 500 in Muncie, Ind., dominated Ball State on the big points, using big defense to take a big win over the 14th-ranked Cardinals. The final score had Mason victorious, 30-27, 30-28, 30-27.

One night after Shaun Powell had 39 kills, the Patriots showed they aren't a one-man team, as Hudson Bates had 16 kills and a .444 hitting percentage, Felix Campos added 12 kills and eight digs, and Powell had nine kills, six digs and four blocks.

The Patriots came out strong in the first game, holding off a late Ball State charge to take a 1-0 advantage. The second game saw the Patriots rally from a late, 28-27 deficit to win three points and claim a 2-0 edge. The final game saw Mason hold off a late charge from the Cardinals to close out the straight-sets win.

Mason eliminated some of the mistakes in the service game which had played the Patriots in their 3-2 win over IPFW on Friday night. Along with a .310 hitting percentage and a 14-2 advantage in blocks, Mason had more than enough ammunition to improve to 3-0 on the year. Senior setter Dave Egan did a tremendous job of distributing the ball, as he amassed 40 assists to go with two service aces, three digs and three block assists.

Ball State's Nick Meyer led all scores with 17 kills while Dave Carlson had 41 assists. Evan Berg added 14 digs.

After just two road games, the Patriots have already doubled the road wins total from 2004, when Mason won just once on the road, in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association's quarterfinals at Princeton. Mason also has hit better than .300 in every match this year, something they did not accomplish in three matches in all of 2004.

Mason is off until next Saturday, when the Patriots play at Springfield.