Feb. 24, 2006

Box Score

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - No. 14 George Mason (13-2, 4-0 EIVA Tait) passed a tough test on the road from the top-ranked school in the CSTV/AVCA Division III Top 15 Poll, the Juniata Eagles (5-6, 1-4 EIVA Tait), to extend its winning streak to six matches and remain unbeaten in conference play.

The Patriots rolled to victories in the first two games of the match, 30-26 and 30-21, before the Eagles took game three by a final of 30-24. In the fourth game, with Juniata leading 23-21, and attempting to send the match to a fifth and deciding game, Mason turned up the defense, getting four double blocks within the next nine points, with the final one from redshirt senior Shaun Powell and senior Matt Steinfurth giving the Patriots a 27-25 advantage. Juniata rallied to tie the score at 28, but an Eagles' service error and a kill by freshman Kyle Gramit sealed the victory for Mason.

Powell led all players with 17 kills in the match, with Gramit chipping in 16. Redshirt senior setter Bryan Newcomb dished out 39 assists in the contest. Steinfurth paced all players with five aces and Gramit was tops in the match with six blocks. Junior outside hitter Mark Burik reached double figures with 10 digs defensively for the Patriots.

George Mason plays a crucial EIVA Conference match tomorrow at 1 p.m. against No. 9 Penn State (8-4, 5-0 EIVA Tait) at Rec Hall in University Park, Pa. The winner will gain sole possession of first place in the EIVA Tait Division. Mason will attempt to reverse history with a victory over the Nittany Lions tomorrow. Penn State leads George Mason, 76-12, in a series that began in 1977. The last meeting was a four-game Nittany Lions' win (30-20, 30-18, 30-32, 30-24) on April 30, 2005, in the EIVA Championship match. The last regular-season meeting was a three-game Penn State win (30-24, 30-26, 30-28) on April 16, 2005.