The George Mason women's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on Friday in the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia West Penn Invitational, falling in straight sets to Radford before a 3-1 loss to the host Quakers at the Palestra. The Patriots dropped to 2-10 on the year and will play their final non-conference match of the season Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. against Rutgers.
Radford 3, George Mason 0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-15)
Junior Lana Zonjic led the offense with nine
kills and eight
digs as the Patriots found difficulty offensively in their first
match of the
weekend. Mason hit -.034 for the match, compared to a .153 mark
for the
Highlanders. Freshman Bernetta Moore led the Patriots with 14
digs while senior
Danielle Cook accounted for three solo blocks. Zonjic also led all
players with
two service aces. For the Highlanders, Cheyanne James scored 14
kills to pace
the attack.
Radford took the early lead in the first set,
but down by as
many as three, the Patriots came back to tie the score and led
11-10 after an
RU error. The Highlanders countered with a 10-1 run which pushed
their lead to
eight, and it would grow as large as 24-15, as Radford took the
first set eventually
by the 25-17 margin.
After Zonijc's kill put the Patriots on top to
begin the
second set, a 9-2 run by the Highlanders gave them a lead they
would not
relinquish. It grew as large as 11 before Mason strung together
four straight
points, again holding off the Highlanders before a Jesse Miedema
kill made it
two sets to none.
An 8-0 RU run opened play in the third set and
the Patriots
were unable to recover from the early deficit, drawing as close as
six points
at 17-11. After a Zonjic kill made it 20-12, Radford scored five
of the final
seven points to claim the match.
Pennsylvania 3, George Mason 1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-16, 25-21)
Zonjic contributed her third double-double of the season with
14 kills and 12 digs in the nightcap, while Price also registered 41 assists and
17 digs for a double-double, her third of the year as well. Moore tallied a
match-high 29 digs, while Cook also recorded a match-best five blocks. Lauren
Martin led a trio of Quakers in double-digits with 16 kills.
Penn jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the opening set, scoring seven
of eight after Mason opened the match on a Lolade Owokoniran block solo.
Despite pulling within two points including 21-19, the Patriots were unable to
knot the score and Penn went up one set to none.
Mason led 3-1 early in the second set, one that featured
eight ties and three lead changes. With the score tied at 18, the Patriots
recorded four straight points, part of a 7-2 run to close out the set and even
the match at one all.
The third set was the closest with seven ties and four lead
changes, and the margin was within two points in the early going. That changes
as part of a 5-1 stretch of scoring by the Quakers which put them ahead 20-14.
The teams traded the next two points, but Penn scored the final four points to
take the 2-1 lead.
Neither team pulled away in the final set until the final
moments. The teams were tied at 17, but it was the final tie of the evening as
a 5-1 run by the Quakers provided enough cushion for them to hold off Mason and
avoid a fifth set.
