WASHINGTON, D.C. - The George Mason women's volleyball team was unable to come
away with a victory in their first match of the season, suffering a 3-0 defeat
by Georgetown in the opening match of the D.C. Volleyball Challenge. Set scores
were 25-17, 25-22, 27-25 in the neutral-court match played at American's Bender
Arena.
Sophomore Lana Zonjic led the Patriots (0-1) with 11 kills while
freshman Alyson Farm posted nine kills in her collegiate debut. Junior Danielle
Cook had seven kills and five total blocks, a total matched by sophomore Laura
Spencer. The Patriots were out-hit by a .339-to-.186 margin, though, as
Georgetown (1-0) had two players in double-digit kills including a match-high
13 from Lindsay Wise.
The Hoyas began the match on a 13-3 run and in the first
set, Mason could narrow the gap as close as six points at 19-13. GU held its
ground as the Hoyas amassed a .556 attack in the opening stanza, compared to a
.250 mark for the Patriots.
In set two, the Patriots grabbed the early lead at 5-3 and,
following four straight points by the Hoyas, Mason countered with the same to
make the score 9-7 and force a Hoyas timeout. Georgetown tied the score at 12
but the Patriots eventually increased their advantage to three points at
20-17. The Hoyas responded with an 8-2
run to close out the set.
Georgetown had the hot start in the third set, scoring six
of the first nine points and would lead for the majority of the set. Mason,
which trailed by as many as five, rallied to tie the match at 20. A 4-1 scoring
stretch by the Hoyas brought about match point, but three straight Patriot
points tied it at 24. The teams swapped points before the Hoyas recorded a pair
of kills to take the victory.
Mason will be back in action in the Nation's Capital on
Saturday, continuing play in the D.C. Volleyball Challenge with an 11 a.m.
match at George Washington. Mason's 5 p.m. match against American has been
postponed due to the impending weather, and has been rescheduled for a 7 p.m.
first serve on Wednesday, September 14 at Mason.
