Sept. 7, 2007
Pittsburgh Box Score
Buffalo Box Score
PITTSBURGH - The George Mason women's volleyball team hit the road Friday, as the Patriots traveled to the Pitt Invitational and came away with a split in the first day of action. In the second match of the tournament, Mason dropped a 3-1 decision to the host Panthers (30-22, 30-27, 27-30, 30-25). Against the University of Buffalo, though, the Patriots turned the tables with a 3-1 victory (26-30, 30-15, 30-26, 30-24) over the Bulls.
Mason (5-3) was able to play well in both matches, thanks to a powerful offensive attack led by sophomore Rebecca Walter, who finished the day with 29 kills. Also contributing heavily was senior Jaqueline Kohler, who nearly matched Walter with 27 kills. Kohler also recorded her third double-double of the year against Pittsburgh, with 15 digs to go with her 13 kills.
In the opening match, the Panthers took the first two games as the Patriots had some offensive difficulty. Pitt out-hit Mason by .289-to-.062 and .250-to-.158 margins in the first two games, respectively.
Mason responded by winning the third game to prevent the shutout, a close 30-27 victory. The game was close throughout, with the largest lead belonging to the Patriots at 24-20. From there, though, the Panthers notched four straight points to even the game at 24. After trading points, Mason scored three times to move the score to 28-25, then held on as the teams swapped points.
The fourth and deciding game was slightly less balanced, as Pittsburgh jumped out to a 6-2 lead and never looked back, holding off a late Mason charge to record the victory.
In the afternoon match, the Patriots dropped the first game by a slim 30-27 margin, but quickly regrouped to win the next three games and earn the match victory. Freshman Fernanda Bartels tied a season-high with 45 assists to help pace the Patriots' attack, which held a .299-to-.166 hitting percentage advantage. Three Patriots reached double-figure kills, as Walter led with 15 while Kohler added 14. Sophomore Laura Turner chipped in 12.
Mason's commanding 30-15 victory in game two was set in motion by a 6-1 run to open the game. The Patriots never trailed, and opened their lead to 15 points at 29-14, before setting the final score after trading points with the Bulls. Mason would not trail again until the fourth game, as they held the lead throughout the third game.
The final game of the day proved to be a tester for the Patriots, as they could not pull away from Buffalo easily. That changed when, with the game tied at 15, Mason embarked on a 9-4 scoring spree to take a 24-19 lead. From there, the Bulls came no closer than four points as the Patriots snared their fifth victory of the young season.
Mason was very effective from behind the service line in the Buffalo match, recording a season-high 14 aces, three more than their previous mark against George Washington two weeks ago.
The Patriots are back in action tomorrow with one more match in the Steel City against UAB on Saturday at 11 a.m.
