WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Three Patriots posted double-double performances but the
George Mason women's volleyball team was unable to come away with its first Colonial
Athletic Association road win, falling in four sets at William & Mary. Set
scores were 25-23, 26-24, 25-21, 25-22. Mason dropped to 7-13 and 2-6 in
conference play, while the Tribe improved to 8-12 and 2-6 in CAA matches.
Sophomore Lana Zonjic led the offense with 17 kills and added
11 digs, while senior Noelle Fanella posted 10 kills and 10 digs. Junior Lauren
Goodell dished 40 assists to go with 14 digs, a category led by freshman Alyson
Farm and senior Kelly McCarter who each chipped in 20. Monika Stanciauskas
paced the Tribe with 18 kills on .406 hitting.
W&M scored five of the first six points of the match and
led for nearly the entire first set, at one point up by as many as five points.
Trailing 22-18, though, Mason rattled off five straight points to take a 23-22
lead and force a Tribe timeout. W&M went on to score three unanswered
points and capture the first set.
Neither team led by more than four points in the second set,
with the largest advantage coming at 22-18 in favor of the Patriots. After the
Tribe used a 6-1 run to take a 24-23 lead, Mason answered with three straight
to even the match at one set all. In total there were seven ties and five lead
changes in the second set.
Both teams' attacks improved out of the intermission as the
Tribe hit .366 compared to .333 for the Patriots. The difference stayed within
three points until, trailing 12-9, W&M opened up a 21-15 lead thanks to a
12-3 run. Mason got no closer than three for the remainder of the set.
The fourth set was again tight, with 10 ties and six lead
changes. The Patriots were up 18-17, but after two W&M points made it
19-18, Mason would not lead again. Tied at 19 and again at 20, the Tribe scored
two in a row and the teams traded side outs before Stanciauskas' kill at the
24-22 match point closed out the win, avenging a 3-1 Mason victory last month
in Fairfax.
Mason will continue its road trip on Saturday evening,
traveling to VCU for a 7 p.m. first serve in Richmond.
