Nov. 14, 2009

 

Box Score

 

FAIRFAX, Va. - Senior Rebecca Walter led the George Mason women's volleyball team with 12 kills and the Patriots slammed 18 team blocks en route to a four-set victory (23-25, 25-16, 25-11, 25-13) against Colonial Athletic Association rival James Madison on Saturday night at the RAC Gym.

With the victory, Mason (21-8, 10-4) assured itself of the No. 3 seed in next week's CAA Championship.

Meanwhile, the Patriots completed the regular season in the final home match for three seniors: Walter, Laura Turner and Sam Simmonds. With 21 wins, Mason has the most victories in seven seasons.

Leading the blocking attack, which held a dominating 18-to-5 advantage over the Dukes (11-19, 4-10), were Turner, junior Holly Goode and sophomore Kelsey Bohman, who each tallied nine total blocks. Junior Fernanda Bartels had a match-high 40 assists while freshman Koala Matsuoka led the team with nine digs.

Kelly Turner had 10 kills to lead the way for the Dukes, who were out-hit by a .350-to-.045 margin in the match.

Mason dropped the first set despite pulling within a point at 24-23, as the Dukes converted their second set point opportunity on a Kelly Turner kill. Into the second set, the teams were nearly even before the Patriots seized control of a 12-12 deadlock with an 8-1 run.

The third set was Mason's most dominant, as they opened on a 11-3 run and never trailed, pushing their lead into double digits and closing on a 6-1 tear. The Patriots out-swung the Dukes by a .500 to -.200 margin. The Patriot offense improved even further in the fourth set, hitting .615 with just one error. JMU kept it close in the early going, pulling within three at 10-7 before Mason exploded for a 10-1 run to set the stage for victory.

The third-seeded Patriots will face No. 2 Delaware in the semifinals of the four-team CAA Championship. The top seed, VCU, will host the tournament in Richmond, Va. which will be contested on Nov. 23-24.