March 5, 2010

Box Score

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason men's volleyball team took a 2-1 lead against Rutgers-Newark on Friday evening at the RAC Gym, but the Patriots were unable to hold on for the win. The Scarlet Raiders won the final two sets to earn their fifth victory of the season.

In the fifth set, George Mason fell behind early as Rutgers-Newark took the first three points of the set. The Patriots regrouped and were able to come back to take the lead. After taking an 11-10 lead following a kill by Lance Rogers, the Patriots were unable to close the match. Rutgers-Newark won the next two points, and after Mason tied the score at 12, the Scarlet Raiders took the final three points of the set to take a 3-2 win.

The loss drops Mason to 4-9 overall this season. The Patriots' attack started the match on fire, hitting a sizzling .615 in a 30-26 opening set victory. However, Mason's team hitting percentage fell in each successive set, hitting a low of .061 in the third set. The Patriots finished with a .187 hitting percentage in the match, while Rutgers-Newark hit .326 as a team.

Sophomore outside hitter Andrew Dentler led all players with 25 kills on 60 swings. Freshman setter Javier Perez led the team in assists (51) and digs (8). Freshman middle blocker Piotr Dabrowski hit .412 with nine kills and a match-high nine blocks.

The Scarlet Raiders were led by Marcin Midura's 22 kills on .462 hitting. Jon Keller tallied 14 kills and Dane Mulligan recorded 13. Setter Jeff Zornig recorded a match-high 60 assists.

George Mason returns to action tomorrow when it travels to University Park, Pa. to take on ninth-ranked Penn State at Rec Hall. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.