Box Score

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Senior Kyle Gramit's 26 kills weren't enough as George Mason lost in five sets to No. 13 UC Santa Barbara in nonconference men's volleyball action on Wednesday evening at Robertson Gymnasium in Santa Barbara, Calif. The two teams traded a pair of sets as scores went 26-30, 26-30, 30-26, 30-22, and 13-15.

UCSB (6-12) had not faced George Mason (8-6) since 1996. The Gauchos improved to 5-0 all-time against the Patriots, but had to work to earn the victory as Mason rallied from two sets down to force a deciding fifth set.

Gramit's 26 kills paced the Patriot attack. Freshman Lance Rogers chipped in 10 on .409 hitting. Rogers completed the second half of his double-double with 10 blocks and Ryan Kwiatkowski had eight, along with 50 assists, as George Mason outblocked UCSB 17.5 to 8.0. Sophomore libero Eric Lucas led all players with 15 digs, his second consecutive match with 15 digs.

UCSB's Jeff Menzel had two aces, seven digs and four blocks to go along with his match-high 32 kills. Jake Rosener and Trey Valbuena had 13 and 11 kills, respectively, and Valbuena collected a double-double with 10 digs. Andy McGuire had a team-high 11 digs as the Gauchos held a 55-45 advantage in that department.

The Patriots' West Coast swing continues on Thursday with a match against California Baptist University in Riverside, Calif. at 10 p.m. ET.