UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
The George Mason men's volleyball team fell to EIVA foe No. 5 Penn State in
straight sets on Saturday evening at the Recreation Building on the campus of
Penn State.
Penn State won the match with set scores of 25-13, 25-22, 25-20.
Mason (4-10, 1-3 EIVA) played Penn State close, remaining
within one point, 12-11, midway through the first set. However, the Nittany
Lions (12-1, 6-0 EIVA) went on a 7-0 run to assume a 19-11 lead. The Patriots
called a timeout but were unable to generate an offensive presence the rest of
the way as they dropped the set, 25-13.
The Patriots saw a similar situation in the second set as it
fell behind early and couldn't pull closer than three points, falling by a set
score of 25-22.
Rallying in the third set, Mason played PSU to a 16-16 draw
and assumed its first lead of the match, 17-16, off of a block by junior outside hitter Andrew Dentler and
junior middle blocker Piotr Dabrowski. But Penn State tied the match and assumed the lead at 19-18, going
on to win the set by 25-20.
Mason struggled offensively, with no player registering
double-digit kills. Junior outside hitter Mark Jones led the Patriots with seven kills,
while freshman middle blocker Hunter Stevens and senior outside hitter Joe
Norton tallied five kills apiece. Pete Cuppernull added 19 assists, and Norton
finished with a team-high four blocks.
Joe Sunder and Nick Goodell posted a team-high 13 kills apiece,
while Edgardo Goas dished out 30 assists.
The Patriots return to action on Monday, hosting Grand
Canyon at the RAC. Gametime is slated for 7:00 pm.
