March 7, 2009

Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. - Senior Kyle Gramit's 25 kills, four aces, five digs and four blocks led George Mason past Princeton by a final score of 3-1 in EIVA Tait Division men's volleyball action on Saturday afternoon at Dillon Gym in Princeton, N.J. Final set scores from the match were 30-26, 30-21, 30-32 and 30-26.

The Patriots improved to 8-5 and 3-3 against EIVA Tait Division foes with the win. Princeton falls to 6-7 and 2-4 in conference matches following the loss.

George Mason got off to a great start in the match, trailing only two times during the first two sets, with both instances taking place within the first three points of the opening set. The Patriots hit .375 in the opening set and .300 in the second stanza.

In the third set, Mason led 24-20 but was unable to hold on. Princeton took the next four points before a Gramit kill put the Patriots back on top by a point. The two sides traded points until the Tigers took control with a kill by Carl Hamming and a combined block of Joe Norton's attack by Brandon Denham and Mike Vincent to take the 32-30 win.

With a 2-1 lead, Mason sealed the victory in the next set with a four-point win. After hitting only .125 in the third set, the Patriots rebounding by hitting .349 to close out the match.

Both Joe Norton and Luke Maloney joined Gramit with double-digit kill totals. Norton finished with 12, while Maloney added 11. Brandon Joyner and Ryan Kwiatkowski split the setting duties with Joyner dishing out 24 assists and Kwiatkowski chipping in 21. Libero Eric Lucas recorded a match-high 15 digs.

Vincent led Princeton with 17 kills. Jeff McCown added 14, and Hamming and Rosenberg both finished with 11. Denham recorded 59 assists in a losing effort.

George Mason returns to the court on Wednesday, March 11 with a road match against UC Santa Barbara. First serve is slated for 10 p.m. ET.