March 12, 2009

Box Score

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Adiel Tiedjop and Levi Cabral combined for 43 kills to lead California Baptist to a 3-0 (30-25, 30-28, 30-19) win over George Mason on Thursday evening at Van Dyne Gym in Riverside, Calif.

George Mason's record falls to 8-7 on the season. The Lancers (17-5) have won eight straight, the longest streak since the 2007 season when CBU won nine consecutive matches.

The Lancers hit over .300 in each set and totaled a .370 (55-18-100) hitting percentage for the night. George Mason was strong at the net, outblocking CBU 9.0-5.5, but the attack struggled, hitting at a .160 (28-15-81) clip.

Tiedjop had 11 kills in the opening set as the Lancers hit .486 (23-5-37). CBU broke a 15-15 tie on a Mike MacNeill kill before Tiedjop put the Lancers up 17-15 with another kill. Cabral completed the 4-0 run when he blasted a kill to give CBU a 19-15 lead. The Patriots got within two at 21-19, but a kill each from Tiedjop and Cabral, in the midst of a 4-1 run, gave the Lancers their biggest lead of the set at 25-20 on their way to a 30-25 win.

Tiedjop nearly matched his first set output with nine kills in the second to help CBU out to a 2-0 lead in the match. The Patriots scored the first three points of the set but the Lancers answered by scoring four straight, including a Cabral kill that put CBU up 4-3. The Lancers led 6-5 before George Mason used a 6-2 run to take an 11-8 lead, but CBU scored three straight to tie it at 11. The Patriots broke a 14-14 tie with a 4-1 run to take an 18-15 lead and force a CBU timeout.

George Mason took its biggest lead of the set at 23-19 before a pair of errors, a MacNeill kill and a Stefan Brule ace tied the set at 23. After four ties, with the final coming at 28-28, Tiedjop gave CBU a set point with a kill and Cabral put it away with his 13th kill of the match.

The Lancers opened the final set scoring the first seven points, including a pair of aces from Penner. Leading 15-9 midway through the set, CBU scored three straight on bookend kills by Tiedjop and Cabral and a Blair Penner ace to lead 18-9. The Patriots used a 7-4 run to get as close as six at 22-16, but the Lancers closed out the match with an 8-3 run that was capped by two Penner aces.

Senior Kyle Gramit paced the Patriot attack once again with 12 kills. The Naperville, Ill. native also served three aces in the match. Freshman Lance Rogers totaled six kills on seven swings and led the team in total blocks with four.

George Mason will wrap up its West Coast swing with a match against No. 3 Pepperdine on Saturday, March 14 at the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. First serve is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET.