Oct. 8, 2005
Box Score
The George Mason women's volleyball team hosted Delaware on Saturday afternoon with the Patriots looking to take a home win over the Blue Hens in a critical Colonial Athletic Association match. The Blue Hens entered with a 3-5 record in conference play while Mason was 1-6, meaning a win would help strengthen Mason's chances of being one of the six teams to play in the CAA Championship. That's what made the 30-22, 30-21, 30-28 loss to Delaware difficult to swallow.
Mason once again struggled hitting the ball but this time the struggles came in the middle, as Julie Flanders hit -.143, Morgan Connell hit -.091 and Chantal Bodkin-Clarke hit .000. Only Janelle Wilson performed well at the middle position as she had six kills and hit .214. The Patriots found it hard to get around Delaware libero Heather Ranck, who had 20 digs, while Megan McGrath added five total blocks in the middle for the Blue Hens.
The first game saw Delaware (7-13, 4-7) come out strong and build an early 9-5 lead. Mason could not get closer than three at any point thereafter as the Blue Hens countered every Mason rally. Mason hit just -.069 in the game while Delaware hit .286. The second game was even more skewed to Delaware's advantage with the Blue Hens jumping out to an 11-2 lead and then simply trading points with Mason the rest of the way. Delaware hit .457 in that game while Mason hit .150.
The final game saw the Patriots (4-11, 1-7) come on strong. Mason broke open an 8-8 game to build a 17-12 lead behind strong serving from Kristen Byler and Niki Bernardes. Wilson and Jaqueline Kohler each had two kills in that stretch. But Delaware rallied behind Rack's serve and tied the game at 17-17. Mason eventually fell behind, 24-21, before winning 5 of 6 points to go ahead 26-25. With the game tied 28-28, Kelly Gibson and Megan McGrath each had kills to give Delaware its second road victory of the weekend.
Mason was paced by Kohler, who had 12 kills and just four errors while recording nine digs and three block assists. Bernardes added nine kills, 12 digs, two service aces and a block assist while Zulma Rojas had 11 digs. Sarah Hipps added 18 assists and five digs. Delaware got eight digs, 18 kills and a .325 hitting percentage out of Gibson while Colleen Walsh added 12 kills. Claire McCormack had eight digs and Allison Lutaz added 40 assists and seven digs. Delaware finished the match with a 55-47 edge in digs and a .264-.076 advantage in hitting percentage.
Mason returns to action on Sunday at 1 p.m. when the Patriots host Towson. That match will begin with Towson ahead 1-0 in games and 17-14 in the second game. The two teams began the match on Friday evening but play was suspended midway through due to a leaky roof in John Linn Memorial Gym. There will be no charge for admission at Sunday's match.
