WASHINGTON, D.C. - The George Mason women's volleyball team opened its 2012
campaign on Saturday afternoon at nearby Bender Arena, falling to Georgetown in
straight sets (25-16, 25-23, 25-19) at the D.C. Volleyball Challenge hosted by
American University.
Junior Laura Spencer led the Patriots with a double-double
performance, pouring in team highs of 10 kills and 10 digs while also
contributing three block assists. Classmate Lana Zonjic, a Preseason All-CAA honorable
mention, added nine kills and three aces while fellow junior Tori Price
registered 24 assists. Leading the Hoyas (2-0) attack was Lindsay Wise, as she
recorded 14 kills on .667 hitting.
Mason jumped out to an early lead at 4-1 in the opening set,
but the Hoyas countered with an 8-2 run to make the score 9-6 in their favor.
Mason pulled within a point on three occasions, including an ace by Zonjic
which made it 11-10, but Georgetown scored 13 of the next 15 to take a 24-12
lead. It took them five set point attempts, though, before picking up the first
stanza on a kill by Wise.
The Patriots again found the early lead in the second set,
but another big run by Georgetown broke open a 6-6 deadlock. Trailing 13-8,
Mason responded with a 9-2 scoring spree to regain the advantage at 17-15 after
a block by Spencer and redshirt freshman Lolade Owokoniran. The lead changed
hands twice more as the score was tied at 20, but the Patriots took the first
21-20 lead. Four straight points by the Hoyas put them in position to take a
two-set lead, and after a Zonjic kill and a Dani White error, White registered
the final point in set two.
Georgetown started strong and never looked back in the third
set, opening on a 6-2 run. Mason found an early response, pulling to within 9-8
on a block by Price and Owokoniran, but the Hoya offense exploded for a 12-1
run to move the lead into double-digits. Again, the Patriots were resilient and
cut the gap to 22-18 after a 9-1 run of their own. The gap was too much to overcome, though, as
Georgetown sealed the sweep after an Alex Johnson kill and a pair of Mason
attack errors.
Mason is back in action later today, facing the host Eagles
at 7 p.m.
