Sept. 27, 2008

Box Score

FAIRFAX, Va. - In both teams' Colonial Athletic Association openers, the George Mason and James Madison volleyball teams battled through five sets, with the Dukes ultimately edging the Patriots, 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 18-25, 15-10) on Saturday evening before 363 fans at the Field House.

The Patriots fell to 4-10 (0-1 CAA) as they dropped their fifth straight decision, while the Dukes improved to 7-10, 1-0 in the conference.

Mason, which held a .258-to-.169 hitting advantage over the match, was powered by 21 kills from junior Rebecca Walter, who completed a double-double by adding 15 digs as well. Senior Jourdan Dozier led the charge at the net with nine total blocks, part of a Mason unit that slammed home a season-high 15 blocks on the evening. JMU had four hitters in double-digit kills, led by 15 kills from Lindsay Callahan.

After trading the first four points, JMU scored the next four points to take the lead at 8-4. The Dukes would preserve their lead for most of the first set, expanding the advantage as large as five on two occasions. However, the Patriots mounted a fierce comeback, using a 6-2 run to tie the match at 22. With the score deadlocked, JMU struck first with a Callahan kill and followed with two more points to take set one.

JMU out-hit the Patriots by a .244-to-.195 margin in the first frame, led by Callahan's seven kills. For Mason, Turner and Walter recorded five and four kills, respectively to pace the offense.

After a narrow first-set loss, Mason came out firing in the second and did not relent, as the Patriots never trailed en route to leveling the match at one set apiece. Scoring the first three points, Mason continued to match JMU's offense, although the Dukes did tie the score at 11. However, the Patriots answered back with a 4-1 run to open a 15-12 lead. Preserving its lead as the Dukes cut it back to 20-17, a 5-2 Patriot scoring spree put away the set and sent the teams to the break tied at one.

Walter and Simmonds each had five kills in the frame, as Mason out-hit the Dukes by a commanding .484-to-.154 margin and the two juniors tallied .500 and .455 hitting percentages, respectively. Walter also had four digs in the set.

The third and fourth sets mimicked their two predecessors, with JMU taking a narrow victory before Mason leveled the ledger with a commanding performance. Mason led by as many as four points at 14-10 in the third set before a Dukes comeback tied the score. A back-and-forth battle ensued with JMU breaking a 22-22 tie and taking the win.

Walter, who added five kills to her total in the fourth set, helped lead the Mason effort in the fourth set. After the Dukes opened on a 5-1 scoring run, Mason tied the score at five and again at 10, where the Patriots would take the lead for good after a 5-0 run.

JMU had a hot start in the fifth and deciding set, once again opening the scoreboard with a 5-1 run. This time, however, the Patriots were unable to knot the score despite a valiant effort, and the Dukes secured the victory with a 15-10 win in the set.

Mason is back in action next weekend as it hosts Hofstra and Northeastern on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. at the Field House.