Oct. 13, 2005

The George Mason women's volleyball team continues its five-match homestand this weekend as the Patriots welcome Colonial Athletic Association rivals Northeastern and Hofstra to John Linn Memorial Gymnasium. The Patriots will be looking for their second CAA win of the year and they will face some stiff competition in the process.

Northeastern is the first opponent this weekend, with a 7 p.m. match scheduled for 7 p.m. The Huskies enter the match with an 8-10 mark and a 5-4 record in conference play. The Huskies are in their first season of CAA play and they are currently tied for fourth in the conference.

The Huskies have worked their way into the top half of the CAA without any standout individual seasons. Only setter Ivana Pavlisin and outside hitters Kira Batura and Brandie Genibrel are among the conference's top 10 in any categories. Pavlisin is ninth in assists, with 6.87 per game, Batura is sixth in service aces, with 0.36 per game and third in digs per game, with 4.63, and Genibrel is ninth in digs with 3.82.

Northeastern has played strong defense this year. Not only are Batura and Genibrel among the league's top 10 in digs, but Ashley Reeves has proved formidable in the middle, with 61 total blocks, while Larissa Adomat leads the Huskies with a .264 hitting percentage.

The two teams squared off last month and the Patriots were Northeastern's first-ever victim in CAA play. The Huskies took a 30-24, 3-22, 16-30, 30-27 win over Mason in Boston, Mass. Mason also fell to Hofstra earlier this season, dropping a 30-17, 30-21, 30-21 decision in Hempstead, N.Y.

Hofstra, comes into Saturday's 5 p.m. match tied for first in the conference with an 11-6 overall mark and an 8-1 record in CAA action. The Pride have a quintet of players among the CAA leaders. Middle hitter Elizabeth Curley is eighth with a .324 hitting percentage and seventh with 1.02 blocks per game, outside hitters Talita Silva and Tessa Sphar are fifth and tenth, respectively, with 3.40 and 3.10 kills per game, Shellane Ogoshi, last year's CAA Rookie of the Year, is fifth with 10.47 assists per game and tied with teammate Catherine Durakis for sixth with 4.12 digs per game.

The Pride are the conference's top hitting team, with a .251 hitting percentage. Mason is hitting just .153. Hofstra is averaging 13.97 assists per game while Mason is averaging just 11.61 assists per game. Mason is also averaging more than four fewer digs per game than Hofstra and three fewer kills per game.

The Patriots (4-12, 1-8) have an advantage over Hofstra, and Northeastern, in a pair of categories. Mason's 2.12 blocks per game are fifth in the conference while Hofstra is averaging just 1.92 blocks per game while Northeastern is averaging 1.84. The Patriots are also third in the conference with 1.84 service aces per game while Northeastern is averaging just 1.54 aces per game and Hofstra is recording just 1.31 aces per game.

The Patriots will be led by Jaqueline Kohler, who is second in the conference in kills per game (3.63) and fourth in points per game (4.11). Chantal Bodkin-Clarke is fourth in blocks per game, with 1.17, and Sarah Hipps is eighth in assists per game, with 8.52. Niki Bernardes is fourth in service aces per game and Janelle Wilson is fifth, with averages of 0.44 and 0.37, respectively.