NEWARK, N.J - The George Mason men's volleyball team swept its second-consecutive EIVA opponent this weekend as it defeated Rutgers-Newark, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon at the Golden Dome.

Mason (10-14, 6-5 EIVA) swept the match with set scores of 25-18, 26-24, 25-18.

The Patriots opened the first set on a 6-1 run and after two Scarlet Raiders points, Mason used a 5-0 run to go up, 11-3 and cruise to the 25-18 set victory.

The second set saw both teams battle back and forth, as Mason assumed an early 5-3 lead, but Rutgers-Newark responded with a 6-0 run to take the lead, 9-5. Exchanging points and playing to a 24-24 draw, the Patriots eventually secured the set on two kills by junior outside hitter Andrew Dentler for the 26-24 win.

After the Scarlet Raiders registered the first point of the third set, Mason rattled off three-consecutive points to take a 3-1 lead. However, Rutgers-Newark took back the lead at 5-4, and the lead exchanged hands four more times before the Patriots took the lead for good on a block by Dentler and junior middle blocker Piotr Dabrowski to leave the score at 13-12. An 11-3 Mason run gave the visitors a 24-15 edge and, despite three unanswered from the Scarlet Nights they were unable to pull any closer as the Patriots claimed the third set by a score of 25-18.

Mason hit .295 compared to .042 for the Scarlet Raiders and also led team blocks, 14.5-3.0.

Dentler posted a game-high 15 kills, while junior outside hitter Michael Kvidahl chipped in 10 kills. Junior setter Javier Perez finished the match with a game-best 32 assists while Dabrowski added a game-high eight blocks.

The Scarlet Knights received a team-high 11 kills from Austin Pappas, and Manuel Felipez finished with 24 assists.

The Patriots return to action next Saturday, facing NJIT at the RAC at 7:00 pm.