April 17, 2009

Box Score

FAIRFAX, Va. - After falling behind 2-0 on Friday evening against Princeton, the George Mason men's volleyball team took the third set, but the Patriots were unable to complete the comeback, falling by a final score of 3-1 at the Field House. Senior Kyle Gramit led all players with 22 kills in the match.

Set scores were 26-30, 28-30, 30-27 and 23-30. Mason's record drops to 11-15 overall and 4-7 in EIVA Tait Division matches. The loss takes the Patriots out of the running for the fourth seed in the upcoming EIVA Championship Tournament. Regardless of the outcome of Saturday's match against NJIT, Mason will finish as the fifth seed in the conference tournament and will host a first round match on Wednesday, April 22 at the Field House against Harvard, the eighth seed in the tournament and runner-up in the Hay Division to Rutgers-Newark.

Princeton improves to 10-11 overall and 4-8 in conference matches with Friday's win. The Tigers were bolstered by a balanced attack in the match, with five players finishing with 11 kills or more. Princeton hit .372 as a team in the match.

Gramit was the only Patriot with double-digit kills in the loss, with 22 on 47 swings for a hitting percentage of .383. Sophomore libero Eric Lucas recorded a match-high 12 digs. Setter Ryan Kwiatkowski led Mason with 33 assists. Kwiatkowski split time with Brandon Joyner, who added 17 assists in the match.

Jeff McCown led the way for Princeton with 19 kills on 27 swings for a hitting percentage of .519. Mike Vincent hit .640 with 18 kills in the match. Carl Hamming and Vincent Tuminelli both posted double-doubles in the contest. Hamming finished with 18 kills and 10 digs, while Tuminelli recorded 11 kills and 11 digs. Setter Brendan Denham dished out 73 assists.

George Mason hits the court again tomorrow on Senior Day at the Field House. Mason's three seniors - Kyle Gramit, Erik Lanham and Brandon McLaughlin - will all be honored in a special ceremony prior to the start of the 4 p.m. match against NJIT.