To watch Championship Point, see the trophy presentation and view interviews with Coach of the Year
Pat Kendrick and Player of the Year
Holly Goode, click
HERE
Nov. 24, 2009
Box Score
RICHMOND, Va. - Feel free to call it a comeback.
The George Mason women's volleyball team, facing a two-set deficit, stormed back to force a fifth set and ultimately take home its eighth Colonial Athletic Association Championship, upsetting top-seeded VCU, 3-2 (27-29, 25-27, 25-16, 25-23, 15-9) on the Rams' home court Tuesday evening at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
Mason is the first team to ever rally from a 2-0 deficit and win the title in the CAA Championship match.
CAA Player of the Year and tournament Most Outstanding Player Holly Goode led a quartet of Patriots with double-figure kills, as the junior tied a career high set one day earlier with 20. Joining her was sophomore Noelle Fanella with 15, a 13-kill night from All-Tournament Team selection Kelsey Bohman, and 11 kills from senior Rebecca Walter.
Junior setter Fernanda Bartels, also named to the All-Tournament Team, tied a match high with 57 assists while freshman Koala Matsuoka tallied 20 digs to pace five Mason players with 10 or more digs. Fanella also recorded a match-high with 3 aces, while Bohman tied a match-high with nine blocks. Mariel Frey led VCU (25-9) with 21 kills.
While the teams kept even through the first 10 points, VCU took on a 13-8 lead. The Patriots would ultimately tie it up, fighting their way back into the match and knotting the score at 17. From there, the teams swapped points and Mason had set point at 24-22. VCU came back and tied it at 25, had first opportunity for set point but a Goode kill tied it up at 26. Another set point opportunity for the Rams and another Goode kill knotted it up at 27. A Kelsie Clegg kill, followed by an ace from Kvapilova, though, ended the first set and gave the Rams the early advantage.
Into the second set, the Rams opened 4-0 run and VCU led from there until the Patriots again fought back, tying it at 19-19. Mason's 20th point gave the Patriots their first lead of set two. At 21 all, though, the Rams tied the score back up. It was another see-saw affair from that point, with Mason having first shot at set point at 24-23. VCU ultimately would get a chance at 26-25, and ended up converting to take a two-set lead into the intermission.
Mason came out firing in the third set, opening with a 6-3 run and never trailing in the set. The Patriots eventually opened up a lead as large as nine, including at 24-15. On their second opportunity for a set point, the Patriots made it count, as a Frey attack error closed the gap in the match to 2-1. Mason out-hit the Rams .273-to-.049 and had four blocks compared to one for VCU.
It was another tight battle in the fourth set's early moments, as neither team could gain separation by more than two points until a 4-0 run by the Patriots made it 19-16. VCU came back to tie the score at 20. Mason would lead it 23-21, but two in a row by the Rams again knotted the ledger. The Patriots tallied the very next point, and this time, on their first chance, Mason sent the championship match into a fifth and deciding set.
Into the fifth, Mason kept its momentum going, scoring the first five points. VCU came back to pull within 8-6. The Patriots got to double-digits first, and had their first championship point at 14-9. Mason wasted no time in sealing the championship, as Bohman and Goode slammed a Kvapilova attack back over the net to win it for the Green and Gold.
Mason, with a 23-8 record on the season, will await its NCAA Tournament destination as the 64-team field will be announced on Sunday at 3 p.m. The selection show can be viewed live on ESPNEWS.
