Jan. 29, 2010

Box Score

MUNCIE, Ind. - Sophomore outside hitter Andrew Dentler tallied a match-high 22 kills but it wasn't enough as the George Mason men's volleyball team lost in four sets to Ball State on Friday evening at Worthen Arena in Muncie, Ind. Set scores were 23-30, 33-31, 19-30 and 29-31.

The loss was Mason's second straight after losing to No. 13 Ohio State last night. The Patriots' record now stands at 1-2 on the season. Ball State improved to 5-1 with the win.

After falling behind 1-0 in the match, Mason rebounded with a win in the second set. Trailing 31-30, the Patriots stormed back to take the final three points to win the set 33-31 and even the match at one set apiece. Mason took set point on a double block by Javier Perez and Piotr Dabrowski.

Following the second set, the Patriots were unable to win again. After falling behind 2-1 with a third-set loss, the two sides played a competitive fourth set featuring 18 ties and nine lead changes. Mason tied the score at 29 on a kill by Dentler off a nice feed from Perez, but the Patriots lost the final two points to drop the match by a final score of 3-1.

Dentler finished with 22 kills on 52 swings to pace Mason's offensive attack. The native of Cumberland, Pa. was the sole Patriot player to reach double digits in kills. Senior Luke Maloney led all players with 15 digs in the match.

Jamion Hartley led the Cardinals with 17 kills. Lee Meyer recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs. Meyer hit .321 in the match.

George Mason's next match is scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. against IPFW in Fort Wayne, Ind.