Sept. 12, 2009

Box Score

RALEIGH, N.C. - The George Mason women's volleyball team returned to its winning ways, defeating the host Wolfpack in four sets (25-20, 25-19, 22-25, 25-18) in its first action of the day at the N.C. State Raleigh Crabtree Valley Marriott Classic.

Sophomore Noelle Fanella and junior Holly Goode each reached double figures in kills, with 15 and 13 respectively. The Mason offense, which held a .189-to-053 hitting advantage, was also paced by 47 assists from junior Fernanda Bartels. Sophomore Katrina Boryc fell one dig short of her career high as she notched 20, while Goode completed a double-double with 11 digs.

Sarah Griggs's nine kills was highest on the Wolfpack, while Kelly Wood chipped in a match-high 29 digs for N.C. State.

Mason never trailed in the first set as it opened with three of the first four points. The Patriot lead grew as large as seven and was never threatened. In the second, N.C. State led 5-4 before a 7-0 Patriot run broke open the scoreboard. Once again, the Patriots would not trail.

N.C. State avoided the sweep in the third set as it took control of the ledger with a late 7-1 run. Mason pulled within two at 24-22 but an Alex Smith kill gave the Wolfpack their first set.

In the fourth and final set, the teams were even at 10-10, but the Patriots took a 13-10 lead and would stave off the Wolfpack for the remainder of the set, closing on a 6-2 run to pick up the victory after their five-match winning streak was snapped Friday evening against Xavier.