The George Mason men's volleyball team went to Penn
State on Saturday evening with the right to host the Eastern Intercollegiate
Volleyball Association Tournament on the line and the Patriots were unable to
pull off the upset, losing at No. 10 Penn State, 3-0. The Patriots took the
Nittany Lions to the wire in the first set before coming up short in the second
and third, losing 28-26, 25-20, 25-21.
The Patriots were short on middle blockers and
setter Brandon Joyner
and outside hitter Patrick Maloney
started at the
position as the Patriots, despite their reshuffled lineup, played Penn State
tight throughout. Mark Jones
paced the Patriots with 11 kills while Eric Lucas
had seven kills and nine digs. Joyner and Maloney combined to have six kills
and no errors on 12 attacks with 10 block assists. Joe Sunder had 15 kills and
Nick Turko had eight kills and hit .571. Mason is now 14-9, 6-2 EIVA while Penn
State is 20-5, 10-0.
There were 17 ties and seven lead changes in the
first game. Mason trailed 16-14 when the Patriots went on a 6-1 run to take the
largest lead of the set by either club. But Penn State answered with a 4-1 run
of its own to tie the contest at 21-21. Mark Jones
' kill gave the Patriots set
point at 24-23, but Sunder answered to tie the match. Jones had another kill
but Sunder answered with back-to-back kills to give PSU a 25-24 lead. Lucas' kill
tied the match and the Patriots grabbed their third set point when Joyner and
Michael Kvidahl
blocked a Sunder attack. But Sunder tied the match with a kill,
Jace Olsen added a kill and Sunder served an ace to give Penn State the opening
set.
The Patriots won the opening point of the second set
but never again led. Penn State answered with a 5-0 run and built a 16-7 lead.
The Patriots trimmed the gap after falling behind 18-11, making it a 21-18
affair, but the Nittany Lions won four of the final six points to take the 2-0
lead.
Mason led for much of the third set, going ahead
3-0, responding when Penn State tied things at 8-8 by going back on top 15-12,
and held a 19-16 lead late in the set. But the Nittany Lions went on a 4-0 run
to take the lead and then won the match's final four points to win the third
set, 25-21.
The Patriots return to action next Friday night when
they host Saint Francis at The RAC at 7 p.m. They have secured the second seed
in the EIVA Tournament and will host either Sacred Heart or NYU on April 23.
