Oct. 3, 2010
Box Score
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The George Mason women's volleyball team closed out its annual northern road trip with a sweep of Hofstra, toppling the Pride by a score of 25-20, 25-19, 25-23. With the victory, the Patriots remain in a tie atop the Colonial Athletic Association standings with an unblemished 3-0 record (8-7 overall).
Hofstra fell to 0-4 in conference play and 6-15 overall with the loss.
Freshman Lana Zonjic contributed a team-best 13 kills to pace the offense, while senior Fernanda Bartels posted her ninth double-double of the year with 32 assists and 13 kills. Hofstra's Marina Markovic led all players with 14 kills.
The first set was a back and forth affair in the early going, with Hofstra leading early at 3-1 before the Patriots responded with a 5-0 run. The Patriots would not trail again in the set, leading by as much as five despite the Pride tying the score twice more. Hofstra pulled within two at 20-18, but with five of the next seven points going to the Green and Gold, Mason held on for the win.
It was all Patriots out of the starting whistle in the second set, with Mason opening on a 8-1 run. The Pride battled back to pull within a point at 10-9, but the Patriots answered with a 7-1 streak to open up a 17-10 advantage. It was their largest lead of the set as the Hofstra got as close as three but could not overtake Mason.
Another powerful opening scoring run by the Patriots began the third set, with Mason leading 7-1. This time, Hofstra was able to overtake Mason, using a 10-2 run of their own to lead by two. That was one of four lead changes in a set which also saw eight tie scores.
The Patriots were up big, leading 20-15, before the Pride came storming back and led at 23-22. Sophomore Danielle Cook slammed her lone block of the afternoon to tie the score, and freshman Samantha Hughes served up an ace to set up match point. With Hughes serving, Bartels tallied the final kill to seal the victory over the Pride.
Mason returns home for the next two weekends, beginning with a 7 p.m. match on Friday evening at the RAC against Georgia State, the CAA's lone other unbeaten team.
