Sept. 25, 2010

Box Score

FAIRFAX, Va. - A strong offensive attack combined with dominating blocking led the George Mason women's volleyball team past James Madison in three sets (27-25, 25-20, 25-17) on Saturday evening at the RAC. The match was the Colonial Athletic Association opener for both teams.

Junior Noelle Fanella and freshman Lana Zonjic paced the Mason (6-7, 1-0) offense with 10 kills each, while sophomore Danielle Cook led the efforts at the net with nine blocks. JMU (11-4, 0-1) was led by Danielle Erb's 11 kills, as the Dukes were out-hit by a .260-to-.078 margin. Mason also held a 12-to-4 blocking advantage.

The first set was by far the closest of the evening, as the teams traded the lead five times and were tied on nine separate occasions. JMU led by as many as four in the early moments of the match at 13-9, but the Patriots fought back to tie it up at 18. Neither squad led by more than two from then on, and the Dukes had the first opportunity for the set point up 24-22. A kill by senior Holly Goode and a block by Cook and Zonjic tied the score though, and the Patriots scored three of the next four points to take the advantage.

Meanwhile, the second set was all Mason from the outset. The Patriots never trailed, and used an 8-0 run to go up 14-4, a streak that included four consecutive blocks. The difference of 10 points would be the largest Mason lead, and the Dukes mounted a run to close a 21-11 deficit to four points. The Patriots held them off, though, and went into the locker room up two sets to none.

The Patriots found their best attack in the third set, and although the score was close for much of the match, Mason hit .419 with just one error. Mason took the lead for good at 8-7, and went on to lead by as many as eight as the Patriots cruised to the match victory.

Mason hits the road for the first time in conference play next weekend, traveling to Northeastern on Friday evening before a Sunday matinee at Hofstra.