March 28, 2009
Box Score
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - After dropping the first set, the George Mason men's volleyball team rallied to take a 3-1 (28-30, 30-19, 30-27, 30-24) victory over IPFW on Saturday evening at Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne, Ind. The win snapped the Patriots' three-match losing streak.
The Patriots' defense set the tone for much of the match, but it was the Mastodons' Oliver Kook who had a strong start in the opening set with six kills and three blocks to help IPFW gain an early 10-8 advantage. Phil Peterson's four blocks in the set helped IPFW maintain the lead until late but Mason wasn't ready to fold as it closed the gap to three at 26-23. IPFW used its first timeout but never let the Patriots get closer than one as Kook put the punctuation on the set with a kill to give the Mastodons an early 1-0 lead in the match.
Mason made adjustments in the second set. The Patriots' attack put the Mastodons in an early 14-8 hole and never let up. George Mason recorded 19 kills to IPFW's seven in the set as the Patriots tied the match at one with a 30-19 victory.
George Mason jumped out to an early lead in the third set as well. The Patriots took a 10-6 advantage but IPFW kept it close, closing the gap to two at 15-13. The Mastodons' defense had no answer for senior Kyle Gramit as he recorded 11 kills and hit .471 in the frame to lead the Patriots to a 30-27 win.
The fourth set featured 15 ties and six lead changes. IPFW closed the gap to one at 21-20 before Mason went on the largest run of the night for either side to take a 28-20 lead. Darryl Shank momentarily delayed a Patriot win with back-to-back kills but Mason secured the set and match with a 30-24 win.
Gramit had a match-high 29 points for the Patriots (10-11) with 28 kills while hitting .385. Setter Brandon Joyner finished the match with 57 assists, while Eric Lucas finished with 16 digs.
Ben Duckworth had the matches only double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. Kook had a match-high nine blocks as IPFW fell to 10-10 on the season with the loss.
George Mason's next match is scheduled for Saturday, April 4 at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa. First serve is slated for 4 p.m.
