TOWSON, Md. - Senior Noelle Fanella led the George Mason women's volleyball team with 11 kills, but the Patriots were unable to come away with a victory Friday night in a 3-0 Colonial Athletic Association loss at Towson.  Set scores were 25-12, 25-18, 25-20 as the Tigers improved to 3-1 in CAA play (16-5 overall), while Mason dropped to 7-9 and 2-2.

Fanella's team-high 11 kills came on .385 hitting, and the outside hitter tallied nine digs to come just shy of a double-double. Sophomore Tori Price had a pair of team highs with 12 assists along with two aces. Katy Buck's 14 kills led the way for the Tigers, who held a .410 to .188 hitting advantage over the course of the match.

Tied at five all, Towson rattled off a 10-1 run to open up a lead of 15-6, and the Tigers would expand on their advantage including four of the last five points of the opening set. TU posted no errors in the first while swinging .700, compared to a .045 mark for the Patriots.

Mason grabbed the lead in set two, eliminating an 8-6 Tiger lead and going on to take a 14-11 advantage. A 5-2 stretch of scoring by the home team made the score even at 16, and Towson followed with a 7-1 run to take a 23-17 advantage. After a Fanella kill cut the margin to five, a kill by Dayane Van Ass and a Patriots' attack error sent the Tigers into the intermission leading two sets to none.

The Patriots started hot out of the break, opening the third set with four of the first five points. TU came back to tie the match at six. Each team forced a sideout the next six points, with Mason's lead of 9-8 being their final of the set. With Towson leading 11-10, it scored five of the next six points and the Patriots were unable to gain ground again. Mason faced match point at 24-17, but scored three more before a Buck kill ended the match.

Mason closes out their three-match road trip on Sunday afternoon, traveling to Delaware for a 1 p.m. tilt against the Fightin' Blue Hens.