PHILADELPHIA - Junior Lana Zonjic, an All-Tournament Team selection,
powered the George Mason women's volleyball team with a season-high 21 kills,
but it was not enough as the Patriots dropped a five-set heartbreaker to
Rutgers on Saturday afternoon at the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia West Penn
Invitational at the Palestra. Set scores were 25-23, 18-25, 18-25, 25-22,
15-13.
It was the final non-conference match for Mason (2-11), who
also saw double-double performances by senior Danielle Cook (13 blocks, 10
kills) and junior Tori Price (46 assists, 12 digs). Freshman Bernetta Moore had
a match-high 36 digs, while Rutgers (13-1) was led by four double-digit kill
performances including Alex Lassa's 17.
Mason had a strong start to the match, opening on a 9-2 run.
The Scarlet Knights answered with a 12-3 run of their own to take their first
lead at 14-12. The Patriots would swing the pendulum back to their side, up
21-18, before four out of five went to RU to give them a 22-21 advantage. A
Lolade Owokoniran kill made it 22-all, but three out of the next four points
went to Rutgers including the Kylie Orr kill which put away the set.
Another hot start opened the second set for the Patriots,
scoring the first five points. Rutgers battled to take the lead at 9-7, and the
margin stayed within two points for the next few points. Down 12-11, Mason
rallied with an 11-2 run to go up 22-14, and its lead was not threatened as the
Patriots tied up the match.
Mason moved up 2-1 in the match after a strong performance
in the third set, hitting .324 as the Patriots never trailed. The lead grew to
eight as the Patriots battled back from a Knights charge, scoring five of the
last seven points.
The fourth set was the closest of all, with seven ties and
three lead changes as the Knights forced a fifth set. They began the frame with
a 6-3 run, but Mason tied the score at 10-all and led by as many as 16-12 after
a 11-3 scoring stretch. Rutgers answered, tying the score at 19 and taking the
lead for good as part of a 8-3 run to send the match to the fifth.
Mason led early in the tie-breaker, up 4-1 before the
Scarlet Knights tied it at five. Two points for the Patriots was answered with
six in a row for Rutgers, making the score 11-7. RU looked in control before a
furious four-point rally by Mason tied the score at 13, punctuated by a block
by Cook and Price. However, Lassa scored a kill and a Patriots error sealed the
victory for the Scarlet Knights.
The Patriots will open up Colonial Athletic Association play
next Friday night, hosting Georgia State at 7 p.m. at the RAC.
