March 20, 2009

Box Score

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason men's volleyball team ended a three-match losing streak with a 3-1 (30-27, 30-24, 29-31, 30-27) win over No. 14 Ohio State on Friday evening at the Field House. Mason improved to 9-8 on the season with the win.

After taking the first two sets, the Patriots were poised to put an end to the match in straight sets after erasing a 28-25 deficit late in the third. Mason went on a 4-0 run that included a kill by junior Luke Maloney and three consecutive attack errors by Ohio State (8-9) to take a 29-28 lead. The Patriots were unable to take advantage of the match point opportunity; however, as the Buckeyes went on a 3-0 run to take a 31-29 win and force a fourth set.

In the fourth set, Mason trailed 25-24 before going on a 4-0 run to take a 28-24 lead. The run included a kill by freshman Lance Rogers, an ace by sophomore Brandon Joyner and a pair of solo blocks, one by junior Ryan Kwiatkowski and one by senior Brandon McLaughlin. After the 4-0 run, the sides traded points until senior Kyle Gramit closed out the match with a kill.

George Mason had 18 blocks in the match to Ohio State's 10. McLaughlin led the way with nine total blocks, including three solo. Along with the strong blocking, the Patriots also served well in the match, finishing with 10 service aces to the Buckeyes five. Freshman Joe Norton came off the bench to serve a match-high four aces. Gramit added three and Maloney finished with two.

Maloney posted a double-double in the match with 11 kills and 10 digs. He finished with one dig less than sophomore Eric Lucas, who recorded 11. Gramit led the Patriots with 24 kills on 51 swings. Kwiatkowski led the team with 53 assists.

Setter Steven Kehoe posted a double-double for Ohio State with 56 assists and 11 digs. Four players posted double-digit kills for the Buckeyes. John Albertson led the way with 17 kills on .406 hitting. John Klanac (15), Ted Schoenfeldt (14) and Ben Spurlock (10) were the remaining Buckeyes to reach double figures.

The Patriots return to the Field House tomorrow evening to take on Ball State at 7 p.m. in the annual Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Match. Mason will hold a special ceremony during the match to honor the 25th anniversary of the 1984 team's third-place finish at the NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball Championships.

The ceremony will be held between the second and third sets of Saturday's match and will feature many of the stars, as well as the entire coaching staff, of that year's team. During the 1984 season, Mason defeated perennial powerhouse Penn State three times, including the championship match of the East Coast Volleyball League Tournament, to advance to the NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball Championships for the first time in school history. Despite losing to Pepperdine in the national semifinals at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, the Patriots rebounded with a straight-set victory over Ball State in the consolation match to take third place at the national tournament.