Sept. 11, 2010
Mason-TCU Box Score
Mason-Princeton Box Score
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The George Mason women's volleyball team had a tough final day of its trip to the Rutgers Invitational, dropping both of its matches to TCU and Princeton in straight sets. Mason is now 4-6 on the season after Saturday's action, and returns to the court next weekend in Charlottesville for the Virginia Tournament against the Cavaliers and Stony Brook.
TCU 3, George Mason 0
Senior Fernanda Bartels posted a double-double with 19 assists and a team-high 18 digs while juniors Kelly McCarter and Noelle Fanella chipped in 13 and 11 digs apiece. Fanella led all Patriots with 10.5 points while TCU (5-4) had Irene Hester pace the offense with 13 kills and seven aces.
Mason was out-hit by a .236-to-.150 margin in the match, seeing a drastic dropoff from its .333 hitting percentage in the first set. The Patriots scored the first three points of the match but an 8-0 run put the Horned Frogs ahead quickly. Mason came back to tie the score twice more but another 9-2 TCU run put the set out of reach.
Once again in the second set, the Patriots opened with three straight points but the Horned Frogs did not have a big run to pull away. In all, there were 13 ties and five lead changes in the second set, with four representing the largest lead by either team. Mason was up 18-15 before a 7-2 scoring stretch by TCU made it 22-20. Mason had two opportunities at set point, at 24-23 and 25-24, but each time the Horned Frogs responded, including three straight kills to close out the set.
The third set was close throughout as well, before TCU broke a 21-21 deadlock with four in a row to seal the victory. Mason's attack fell to .146 and .044 in the final two sets, respectively.
Princeton 3, George Mason 0
Senior Holly Goode led Mason with 11 kills and added a double-double with 10 digs in a match that followed a similar tone to Mason's loss to TCU earlier in the day. McCarter, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, had a team-high 14 digs. Lydia Rudnick led the Tigers (4-3) with 15 kills.
In a first set with six tie scores, Mason led early but a 6-1 Princeton run put the Tigers ahead. Mason fought back to tie the score at 24 but Princeton converted its second set point on an ace by Hillary Ford. Mason had the stronger attack in the set, swinging .390 compared to .268 for the Tigers.
The second set was all Princeton, as the Tigers opened on a 6-2 run and never trailed. Mason cut the gap to three late, but a 7-2 run by Princeton put the gap at 22-15 and the Tigers held on for the set victory. Mason's attack dipped into the red, registering -.051 compared to .103 for Princeton.
Mason grabbed an early lead in set three but the Tigers used a 7-1 run to retake the eadvantage at 12-8. The Patriots' three straight points cut it to one, but Princeton pieced five straight points together. From there, the Patriots got as close as three but could not rally to force a fourth set.
