Aug. 28, 2009
Box Score
FAIRFAX, Va. - Junior Holly Goode and sophomore Noelle Fanella each chipped in 11 kills to pace the George Mason women's volleyball team to a season-opening sweep (25-18, 26-24, 25-20), taking all three sets from American in the first match played at Mason's new Recreation & Athletic Complex Gym.
The Patriots (1-0) started off the 2009 season with a victory over their nearby rival in the first match of the D.C. Volleyball Challenge, as Mason held the Eagles (0-1) to .106 hitting while marking a .337 attack of their own. Mason also controlled the play at the net, amassing 11 total blocks to 3.5 for AU. Junior Fernanda Bartels led the match with 31 assists and fell one dig short of a double-double, a category led on the Mason side by freshman Koala Matsuoka who had 10. Magdalena Tekiel led American with 10 kills while Rebecca Heath posted a match-high 16 digs.
Mason fell behind early at the match's outset, dropping the first four points before a 4-0 run tied it. That run would swell to 11-1 as Mason took a commanding 11-6 lead. From then on, the Patriots controlled the set, not allowing AU any closer. On the fifth set point, a kill from Tekiel made the score 24-18 but sophomore Kelly McCarter slammed a kill to give the Patriots the first-set victory.
The second set was much more even than the first, with neither team taking a lead larger than four. In a back-and-forth battle, the teams were tied at 23 before a Fanella kill gave Mason a set point. AU tied the score, but two straight Goode kills closed out the set and gave the Patriots the two-set advantage.
In the third set, another tight battle took place with the margin growing no larger than two until, with the score tied at 16, a 5-0 Mason scoring spree made it 21-16. Four points by the Eagles closed the gap to one, but Mason responded with four points in a row, including the match-winner on a block from Goode and sophomore Kelsey Bohman.
The match was the first in the Patriots' new permanent home, as the 1,550-seat venue was part of the $30-million renovation and expansion of the previous Physical Education Building.
In the other match of the evening at RAC Gym, George Washington outlasted Georgetown in a five-set thriller. Set scores were 25-22, 26-28, 21-25, 25-21, and 17-15.
Mason will continue play in the D.C. Volleyball Challenge on Saturday when it faces Georgetown and George Washington at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., respectively. Both matches will be played at American's Bender Arena.
