Oct. 20, 2005

The George Mason women's volleyball team will conclude its five-match homestand on Friday evening as the Patriots host James Madison at John Linn Memorial Gym at 7 p.m. The Patriots will be looking to snap their six-match losing streak, the longest the program has suffered since 1998.

The Dukes handed Mason a 3-0 loss earlier this season when the Patriots were healthy. Mason team has suffered numerous injuries to starters and key reserves since then making it all the more challenging for the Patriots to find their way into the win column for the first time this month.

In the previous meeting last month, Mason got 11 kills from Jaqueline Kohler and nine kills and five block assists from Chantal Bodkin-Clarke. Maosn had no answer for Emilee Hussack, who had 14 kills and hit .400, or for Ashley Copenhaver, who had eight kills and hit .467. After Mason lost to the Dukes, the Patriots came back later in the day to defeat UMES and then downed Iona the following day as part of the James Madison Invitational. Since then, the Patriots have dropped eight of nine, including the past six.

Mason last lost six straight from Oct. 20-Nov. 3, 1998. The Patriots had opened the 1998 season with 11 straight losses but finished the year winning four of seven for a 7-25 mark. That's the last time Mason finished a season below .500 until this year.

The Patriots have played a much better brand of volleyball over their past three matches. Mason has hit significantly higher than its season average in dropping 3-1 to Towson, Northeastern and Hofstra, and the Patriots have played much better defensively, averaging nearly four more digs per game.

In particular, senior outside hitter Niki Bernardes, junior middle blocker Chantal Bodkin-Clarke and senior libero Zulma Rojas have performed with more consistency.

Defensively, Mason will need to focus on stopping sophomore middle blocker Allyson Halls and junior right-side hitter Bayli Stillwell. Both are averaging more than 2.45 kills per game while hitting better than .330. They are fourth and fifth in the CAA, respectively, in hitting percentage. As a team, the Dukes are third in the conference in hitting percentage and kills and first in service aces. However, they are last in blocks and eighth in digs.