The George Mason men's volleyball team got
contributions from 11 different players on Friday night as the Patriots had
little trouble with Saint Francis, beating the Red Flash, 3-0. Mark Jones
had
16 kills and hit .583 while Brandon Joyner
played both middle blocker and
setter as the Patriots took a 25-18, 25-20, 25-17 Eastern Intercollegiate
Volleyball Association win.
The Patriots (15-9, 7-2 EIVA) hit a season-high .514
in the match as Michael Kvidahl
added 12 kills and a .556 hitting percentage
and Joyner had five kills and no errors on seven attacks to hit .714. Joyner
had 13 assists in one game as a setter and he added six blocks. Javier Perez
had 27 assists as no Patriot made more than two attack errors. Eric Syty had 10
kills and two errors on 14 attacks to lead Saint Francis (10-14, 3-7).
The first set saw the Patriots pull away early as
they turned a two-point lead at 8-6 into a five-point edge at 11-6. The Red
Flash got to within three at 13-10 but no closer. Brandon Joyner
's serve late
in the set put the Patriots up 23-14 and after Saint Francis ran off three
straight points, Mason closed out the set, 25-18.
The second set was much closer and the Red Flash
held a 16-14 lead before Javier Perez
stepped to the service line and helped
Mason to a 7-0 run. Once ahead 21-16, the Patriots were able to just match
Saint Francis point for point in winning the set, 25-20.
The final set was never in doubt. Mason used Eric
Lucas' serve to turn a 3-3 game into a comfortable 10-3 lead. From that point
on, the closest the Red Flash got was at 18-14. The third set saw Mason post a
.542 attack percentage as they improved to 10-2 at home.
The Patriots return to action next Friday night when
they host Princeton at 7 p.m. in their final EIVA match of the season.