April 2, 2010

Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. - The George Mason men's volleyball team forced a fifth set but was unable to come away with a victory against EIVA Tait Division rival Princeton on Friday evening at Dillon Gym in Princeton, N.J. With the match tied at two, the Tigers took the final set 17-15 to send the Patriots to their fourth consecutive loss.

Trailing 2-1, Mason won the fourth set by seven points to force a deciding fifth set. The Patriots appeared to have the Tigers on the ropes in the fifth set when they jumped out to a 7-2 lead following a solo block by Lance Rogers. After taking a timeout, Princeton mounted a comeback, scoring nine of the next 10 points to take an 11-8 lead.

After falling behind, George Mason rallied to take seven of the next 10 points to force match point with a 15-14 lead. The Patriots were unable to close the match, though, as the Tigers won the next three points to take the 3-2 victory. The match ended when Brandon Joyner's attack was blocked by Princeton's Jeff McCown.

Sophomore outside hitter Andrew Dentler recorded a match-high 29 kills in the loss. Dentler hit .340 in the match with four digs and four blocks. Rogers hit .778 with 14 kills on 18 swings. Rogers finished with a match-high 11 blocks as the Patriots recorded 17.5 blocks as a team.

Princeton won the match on the strength of a balanced attack that featured four players with double-digit kill totals. Pat Schwagler led the Tigers with 24 kills on 43 swings. Setter Scott Liljestrom led all players with 73 assists.

George Mason's record falls to 5-15 overall and 2-4 in conference matches with the loss. Tonight's loss dropped the Patriots' record to 2-2 in five-set matches during the 2010 men's volleyball season. Princeton improved its record to 9-7 overall and 4-4 in EIVA Tait Division matches with the win.

George Mason continues its weekend road trip tomorrow when it faces Rutgers-Newark at The Golden Dome in Newark, N.J. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m.