Sept. 4, 2010

Box Score

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason women's volleyball team battled to victory over West Virginia on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Mountaineers in straight sets (25-21, 25-22, 26-24) on day two of the Patriot Invitational. In a match which saw both teams struggle to find a consistent attack, Mason (2-2) was led by three Patriots with double figure kills.

Senior Holly Goode and junior Kelly McCarter each chipped in 11 kills while junior Kelsey Bohman had 10. Goode and fellow senior Fernanda Bartels each posted double-doubles as she added 18 digs, while Bartels had match highs of 31 assists and 20 digs. Serinna Russo led the Mountaineers (4-2) with 12 digs.

Mason trailed for a significant portion of the opening set, down by as many as five at 15-10 before an 8-2 run put the Patriots ahead, 18-17. Two more tie scores followed, before Mason closed out WVU with a 5-1 run to go up a set. McCarter and Goode each had six kills in the set, with Goode connecting on 6-of-10 attempts with no errors (.600).

Set two brought another close score, with a total of seven ties and three lead changes. The largest scoring differential was three including a 4-0 run which gave Mason a 21-18 lead. WVU got as close as two before the Patriots, up 24-20, converted their third set point to head into the locker room up 2-0. Bohman led the Mason attack in the frame, posting six kills on .500 hitting.

West Virginia jumped out to the early lead in the third set, scoring eight of the first 11 points before the Patriots reversed the scoreboard, tying the set at nine. With 10 ties and four lead changes, the final set was the closest and Mason spent much of the time responding to WVU's attacks. The Mountaineers had a chance to force a fourth set up 24-22, but an ace by junior Katrina Boryc and kills from Bohman and Goode tied the score. That was part of a 5-0 run that ended up sealing the victory, as a pair of McCarter kills on Bartels assists pushed the third and final set to Mason.

The Patriots will take the court once more this weekend, facing Charlotte at 7 p.m. in the Patriot Invitational championship match. The 49ers defeated Army in four sets on Saturday morning to improve to 2-0 on the weekend along with Mason.