FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason men's volleyball team played to five sets for a second-consecutive night but fell short, losing to Ball State, 3-2, on Saturday evening at the RAC.

The Cardinals won the match with set scores of 20-25, 25-19, 25-18, 22-25, 15-13.

Mason (1-1) started the match strong as it won the first set by a score of 25-20. With the set tied at 12-12, the Patriots received a service ace from redshirt senior Joe Norton to take the lead, which it maintained the remainder of the set.

Poor hitting hurt Mason in the second and third sets, as Ball State (1-1) claimed victories by scores of 25-19 and 25-18, respectively.

The Patriots rallied in the fourth set, as they fell behind early but responded to tie the set at 4-4. Both teams battled back and forth, unable to gain more than a two-point advantage through most of the set. Tied at 18-18, Mason took the lead for good, capitalizing on kills by junior outside hitter Michael Kvidahl, sophomore opposite hitter Jonathan Lutz and freshman middle blocker Hunter Stevens in combination with two attack errors and three service errors from the Cardinals to send the match to a decisive fifth set for the second-consecutive evening.

Lutz started the set with a service ace before Cardinal outside hitter Jamion Hartley recorded a kill to tie the score at 1-1. A service error by BSU's Greg Herceg gave the ball back to Mason who then received a solo block from junior middle blocker Piotr Dabrowski to gain a 3-1 edge. Ball State responded to tie the set at 3-3, and both teams then exchanged points as the score advanced to 13-13, setting up an exciting finish. Mason redshirt freshman Pete Cuppernull had service on the point, but Ball State junior outside hitter Larry Wrather came up with a key kill and sophomore Graham McIlvaine served match point for the final 15-13 margin.

For the match, Mason was led by Lutz, who finished with 11 kills and one ace. Kvidahl and redshirt junior Andrew Dentler chipped in eight kills apiece. Dabrowski finished with a game-high 11 blocks (2 solo, 9 assist), while Cuppernull had 41 assists and junior libero Max McFarland contributed 15 digs.

The Cardinals were paced by Hartley's game-high 16 kills. McIlvaine finished with a game-high 44 assists and libero Tommy Rouse had 15 digs.

The Patriots return to action on Thursday, as they travel to face the defending national champions No. 8 Ohio State University at 7:00 pm.