Sept. 28, 2007

Box Score

FAIRFAX, Va. - A fervent home crowd helped power the George Mason women's volleyball team to a 34-32 victory in the opening game against Delaware on Friday evening, but ultimately the Patriots could not outlast the Blue Hens as they suffered a 3-1 (32-34, 30-27, 30-21, 30-19) defeat in front of 324 fans at Linn Gym on Friday.

Delaware (16-2, 2-0 CAA) out-hit the Patriots (7-7, 0-2) by a .274-to-.124 margin in the final three games to earn the victory. The Blue Hen offense was paced by Colleen Walsh, who recorded a match-high 21 kills.

Mason's offense was led by sophomore Rebecca Walter and senior Jaqueline Kohler, who tallied 19 and 18 kills, respectively. Both chipped in 11 digs to mark double-doubles. Junior Jourdan Dozier reached a new career best with eight total blocks in the match, while freshman Fernanda Bartels set a new season high with 56 assists.

The Patriots fought off three game points in the first game, then took control at 32-32 with two points to earn their lone game victory of the day. From there, the Delaware offense found its rhythm to prevent Mason from earning its first conference victory of the season.

In the final match at Linn Gym before moving across campus to the Field House, the Patriots will look to bounce back Saturday evening when they host Towson. First serve is set for 7 p.m.