The George Mason men's volleyball team improved to 2-0 on the season on Friday night as the Patriots took a 3-1 win over New Jersey Institute of Technology. The Patriots won the first set, dropped the second set, then won the final two to beat the Highlanders, 25-13, 20-25, 25-16, 25-15.

For the second time this year, the Patriots easily won the first set before dropping the second set and rebounding to win the final two sets. Mason got strong performances from Eric Lucas and Patrick Maloney as they combined for 20 kills and just three attack errors. Lucas hit .450 while Maloney hit .571.

Mason hit .337 in the match while the Highlanders hit just .053. But even more startling was the block totals as Mason had 24 to just six for NJIT.

In the opening set, Mason used the serve of Brandon Joyner to turn a 14-10 edge into a 21-10 lead. The Patriots trailed the entire second set, pulling to within one at 12-11 before the Highlanders went back ahead 18-14. The Patriots closed to 22-20 before NJIT won the final three points. In the third set, Mason took control early, turning an 8-5 advantage into a 20-10 lead. From there the third set was academic as Mason took the 2-1 lead.

The final set was never in doubt as Piotr Dabrowski served Mason to a7-0 lead and after the Highlanders closed to 12-8, Mason reasserted itself winning 8 of the next 12 points to seal the win and drop NJIT to 1-3 on the season.

The Patriots return to action on Saturday when they host Juniata at 7 p.m.